Gael Maski is a Congolese collage artist who spent 3 months in residence at 32° East under the pilot social practices residency Politics of Return.

Politics of Return is a research program undertaken by London School of Economics and Political Science and 4 partner research institutions. It collects information on research patterns in East and Central Africa. In particular it questions assumptions around going home – what does it mean to return to a place you were forced to flee? As part of this, 3 artists were invited to do a residency during which they conducted their own research and entered into conversation with the research previously collected.

During his residency, among many other things, Gael Masky questioned the impact of conflict on women’s bodies, women wrapped in layers of fabric and what it means to release these fabrics and other possessions in the literal process of finding a new home.

More about his work and his piece are below.