Djofray Makumbu, Lonely Tears

1 December 2021

In December 2021, Makumbu staged Lonely Tears, a new performance and audiovisual work commissioned as part of the public programme accompanying William Scott's exhibition.

The work combined illustration, stop motion animation and sound - including music composed by the artist - with an intersecting performance. The piece enacts a looping conversation between the artist and an antagonist, who represents a personification of his inner voice.

Often working with friends and family, Makumbu creates works that draw on his personal experiences and those of the people close to him. Recent works have focused on the shame and stigma of mental health difficulties, the pressures and violence of inner-city life from the perspective of young people and the joy of music and dancing. Each element in the work is carefully self-made from hand-built sets and hand-stitched garments for Claymation characters to soundtracks that are developed closely with Djofray’s brother.

Djofrary Makumbu, Lonely Tears was commissioned as part of the public programme accompanying our exhibition by William Scott.

  1. Djofray Makumbu is a British Congolese artist born and based in East London. In 2020, Djofray won a Goldsmiths Exhibitions Hub commission, in partnership with the London Community Video Archive. Recent solo shows include Brixton Library, London in 2019. Djofray graduated from BA Fine Art programme at Goldsmiths in 2018 and was awarded the Alumno/SPACE Studio Bursary as a result of his degree show exhibition.

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