ETYÖBUELA
The tales and stories that my father would tell me about Equatorial Guinea since I was a child became real in the summer of 2018. Etyöbuela means roots in Bubi, the language of the Bubi people from the Bioko island. This project shows the encounter with a dormant part of my roots, my identity. From the singing of vibrant colored birds, among the lush green of the jungle, tradition tastes as familiar as the delicious fruit of the cacao after dissecting its hard shell.
This work has been exhibited at Centre Culture Victor Gelez in Paris in 2021 and 2022.
the construction of our identity…
…involves answering questions about our origins or our identity, but also accepting that some questions will remain unanswered, or that resolving them is simply not as vital as we thought. The desire to belong to a group, to share its norms and to enjoy the security that conformity brings can lead us to sacrifice part of our very essence.
I grew up trying to convince those around me that I belonged where I was born, which meant denying, hiding or concealing any reference to my origins. This work is a reconciliation with that identity, with the roots I rejected for years for fear of rejection. During this journey, I had the opportunity to bring to life all the tales and stories my father Cristino had told me since I was a child. It was an encounter with birdsong, the lush green of the jungle, the delicious fruit of the cacao tree, peaceful fishing in a ‘cayuco’ and toys made from jerry cans that I had already imagined in my mind, in my dreams, and which I finally had the chance to see with my own eyes.
The exhibition offers an intimate and curious glimpse into the little-known island of Bioko, where tradition and a deep connection to the land coexist with an ambitious and dreamy youth, looking towards the future. Some thirty images capture a country that is difficult to access, where time passes at a different pace and where exuberant nature takes precedence over human creations. Also on display is a collection of poems by my father, the writer and journalist Cristino Bueriberi, about our family and traditions.
