Esther N'sapu

Esther N’sapu is a Congolese photojournalist currently based in Burundi. Through her work, she explores themes of memory, history, identity, and resilience, placing both intimate and collective narratives at the heart of her artistic practice. Born in Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, she draws her inspiration from the everyday lives of people, observing them with deep sensitivity. Her images, marked by tenderness and symbolism, aim to show that despite hardship, loss, or the silences imposed by war and history, life goes on. It resists, it adapts, and it transforms. Esther N’sapu has developed several photographic projects focusing on women, post-colonial memory, and communities displaced by conflict. Her current series, “The Heiresses of Silence,” explores feminine transmission through gestures of care, everyday objects, and the symbolism of natural hair. With a deeply human gaze, she builds a visual body of work that pays tribute to those who live, dream, and resist — often in the shadows — but always with dignity.