DRC artist: 'I turned my disability into my strength'

By Firmain Eric Mbadinga

Dorcas Poba from the Democratic Republic of Congo does not want to be different, but her captivating work on canvas disagrees.

Like any young person of her generation, she is a young artist and student who spends many moments on social media, where she regularly displays her work.

The originality and quality of the paintings that Dorcas is able to produce with just one hand have even caught the eye of the First Lady of her country, whose foundation has produced a video presenting Dorcas and her story.

In Kinshasa, where she lives, Dorcas has established a space that functions as her studio, where the magic happens.

With her right hand, the only one she has, the 25-year-old dips her brush into her watercolour and creates colour combinations from yellow to green, passing through purple, pastel, and violet, for her paintings.

After long hours of concentration, sometimes spread over several days, Dorcas paints pictures of people, animals, or anything else related to nature.

During these work sessions, the only elements likely to disturb her concentration are rare. Birdsong and sometimes the voices of those close to her add to her inspiration.

''For the moment, I'm still doing a bit of everything, until I decide on a specific style. So I'm into abstract art and impressionism, I do a bit of everything‘’, confides the young lady, who doesn't seem to be much of a talker, to TRT Afrika.

It must be acknowledged that Dorcas' paintings reflect her appreciation for beauty and art in a nutshell.

Since childhood, the young lady has possessed the soul of an artist, ever since she was a child, and it was this that eventually led her to the Academy of Fine Arts in her country's capital to express her talent, realise her passion, and master the codes.

Among her most renowned works are portraits of men and women who have sought her out to immortalise their image with the strokes of her brush. For such works, Poba receives financial support from the models.

During the recent African Cup of Nations, Dorcas showed her patriotism by painting a canvas of a leopard standing in front of the trophy with her country's flag as a backdrop, cheering on her national football team in record time.

With nearly 70,000 views on TikTok, this achievement, like others, has enabled her to expand her audience of art lovers.

'' It's not easy living with just one arm, but I've gotten used to it, and this disability is one of the things that has made me strong. Initially, people saw this condition as a weakness for me. I've done everything I can to turn it into a strength,’ says Dorcas in a confident, dynamic tone.

By choosing to attend the Kinshasa Academy of Fine Arts, where she is in her final year of study, Dorcas Poba has honed not only her technique but also her mastery of the tools required for painting.

''Many people look to me as an example. But it's not easy to live up to that status because sometimes things go wrong in my work, even though it's a two-handed job. There are times when I can't achieve what I want," confesses the young lady, before quickly regaining her self-confidence and her almost infectious good humour.

''What gives me the strength to go on is the road I've travelled so far, because there are times when I really want to stop. I tell myself it's difficult; I can't do it; I can't find myself."

"But when I look at the world I've come from to get to where I am today, it motivates me because I always tell myself that there was better before. So my strength comes from where I've come from,’ adds the painter in conclusion.

For the next stage in her artistic career, Dorcas Poba says she wants to open a workshop to train young people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the art of painting.

This goal is one of the reasons why she continues to apply herself more and more to the work she loves.

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