Everything is art

Traditional fables from the Republic of Congo are collected in a new book, Congo Tales: Told By The People Of Mbomo — and illustrated with painterly photos that have a touch of magical realism.

Eva Vonk, a Dutch film producer, came up with the concept for Congo Tales. It’s the first project from a new multimedia series called “Tales of Us,” which aims to communicate the importance of protecting remote ecosystems and the people who live there.

Over the course of three years, Vonk, along with a local radio producer and a community activist, gathered tales told by people all over the Mbomo district in the Congo Basin, the second-largest tropical rainforest in the world. It’s home to thousands of plant and animal species and to people as well.

The basin is under threat from mining and logging, according to the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Congo Tales conveys that “a lot of wisdom comes from nature around us,” says Vonk. The stories often explore the relationship of people and their environment, with reminders that you can’t go against the rules of nature.

The stories are mainly from an oral tradition. Each story they collected was translated into English, French and Lingala (a Bantu language) for the book and is depicted in stylized photographs by Dutch photographer Pieter Henket.

Magical Photos Bring Fables From Mbomo To Life