
Maurice Mbikayi
Mbikayi observes and is observed. He participates and, through sartorial performances, emphasises his own self- determinacy. Cape Town has many politically, historically and socio-economically loaded spaces, so where he choose to perform is vital to the meaning of the work. In this occasion Mbikayi personifies a "Grand prêtre", a flattering adjective generally used to describe, rightly or wrongly in the Congolese jargon, an individual who has achieved a certain level of success in one area or another and doesn't hesitate to show off. Here, the "grand prêtre" is a "sapeur" showing off his designer clothes. A sapeur is an adherent of La Sape which is an abbreviation based on the phrase Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes (French; literally "Society of Ambiance-Makers and Elegant People") and hinting to the French slang word sape which means "attire", is a subculture centered on the cities of Kinshasa and Brazzaville in the Dem. Rep. of Congo and the Rep. of Congo respectively.
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