Bernice Mulenga is a British-Congolese photographer with a distinct aptitude for archiving, documenting and interrogating the world around them. Their work centres around the search for intimacy. Primarily looking at themselves, the Black queer global/local community and the experiences found within them. This can be found in their ongoing photo series #friendsonfilm. An archive that has been growing since 2015 and continues to shape with time and space. Their work is an exploration of reoccurring themes surrounding movement, identity, sexuality, grief, darkness, bonds and kin.

HOW IS YOUR WORK INFLUENCED BY THE CIRCA 2024 MANIFESTO?
My work and being embodies freedom, it embodies going against the rules. To be Black, Queer and Trans is always to be free, even when others don’t want us to be. We stand strong and we interrupt what is expected of us. Through dancefloors I’ve seen where we shape this, a small hole that somehow even around the globe we all share. The dancefloor is not always a club, but the hallway at work, the beach, the garden of my friends – You name it! The club has long been where many of us come to let loose, forget about our worries or celebrate. Through this, I have been able to build an unexplainable trust with people that allows me to do the work I do in and outside of the dancefloor. This is a key part of my #friendsonfilm archive – trust in me, trust in you, trust in the truth. I’m forever drawn in awe of my people. This work is a portrait of my community and self, as one.

WHAT WOULD YOU CREATE/DO WITH THE £30K CIRCA PRIZE?
With the grant, I would be able to make a longer film that takes a mix of documentary and real-life footage of various dance-floors across the globe and focusing on my muses/dancers/artists/organisers. It would not just look at clubbing but expand to spaces we occupy, build and nurture. Looking at the spaces but most importantly the people that make it what it is. I think it’s importantt to not also forget our siblings outside the west but that all our stories are so unique, special and deserve to be told. The film would also touch on generations, mixing the past, present and future. Through my own travels I have been welcomed and connected with Black queer and trans people who want to contribute to this archive and have been adding to our legacies through their own. I’ve been able to build these connections through my photo work and through that so many conversations have come and even after almost 10 years, I’m still feeling this urge to create something bigger. This grant will allow me to pay my contributors, muses, dancers, subjects, collectives and having small teams in the various places we go, travel costs, and investing in better equipment (cameras, lighting). This grant will allow me to elevate as this would be my first big film.

FOLLOW BERNICE MULENGA ON INSTAGRAM