Turconi, Angelo. Au Coeur du Congo; Congo Revisited by Angelo Turconi.

Stichting Kunsboek (Oostkomp, Belgium), 2018. Prevace by Lye M. Yoka. Hardcover, illustrated boards, not issued with dust jacket. Oversize. Very good with small dent on back cover, kissed at upper spine tips, and small black dot at top of text block. An attractive copy. About the book: Angelo Turconi spent fifty years roaming the Democratic Republic of Congo. This passionate, curious and compassionate photographer documented the daily life of the Congolese, with a particular focus on their cultural heritage and artisanal and artistic traditions. His photographs capture the power of ancestral ceremonies and the joy of popular celebrations, presided over by the traditional chiefs who still occupy a prestigious position. They reveal the social structure of this central African community by observing the work of artisans, farmers, conveyers of goods (riding their impressive cargo bikes) and market traders.  Text in Dutch and English translation. 260 pages. Issued at $80. Heavy and large book, requires more than typical shipping. Summary:

Angelo Turconi (born November 3, 1938) is an Italian photographer, publisher, and ethnographical visual documentarian whose career has been defined by his dedicated documentation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Born in Inzago, near Milan, Turconi began his artistic journey at the age of fourteen while working for a local printing firm, where he developed a foundational expertise in typography and printing that later informed his photographic career. Driven by an appetite for travel and adventure, he spent his twenties embarking on ambitious overland journeys across North Africa, Iran, India, and Afghanistan.

In 1967, Turconi set out to drive a secondhand Land Rover across the African continent from north to south. The expedition came to an unexpected halt in Kinshasa in 1968, leading him to settle in the Congo for over two decades after falling in love with the country and meeting his future wife. Utilizing his prior print making background, he quickly earned photographic and documentary contracts with Congolese government agencies, private enterprises, and major civil engineering efforts—such as the construction of the Inga Dams. During the 1970s and 1980s, Turconi collaborated closely with the Institut des Musées Nationaux du Congo (IMNC) under founding director Brother Joseph-Aurélien Cornet, embarking on numerous field expeditions deep into the interior to photograph traditional arts, royal ceremonies, and indigenous cultural heritage before these practices underwent rapid transformation.

Spanning over five decades of field work, Turconi’s photography provides a compassionate, highly detailed portrait of Congolese life, bridging documentary photojournalism with tribal art history. His work encompasses rich studies of traditional masks, court ceremonies, rural craftspeople, and the daily rhythms of diverse ethnic groups across the region. Now based in Belgium, Turconi has authored and published numerous seminal photobooks detailing Central African heritage, including Zaïre: Peuples, Art, Culture (1994), Infini Congo (2011), Sur les pistes du Congo / Congo on the Road(2015), and Congo Revisited (2018).