That night, he came back home after seeing his group of friends. Mostly white people. He remembers what they said that night. A lot of racist bullshits. It was more than usual, and he felt literally sick coming back home.

  
He entered the bathroom, it was dark. The light was broken… He couldn’t see his reflection in the mirror. The mirror was black. And for few seconds, he actually hoped he disappeared. He was afraid to see what was in the mirror. Someone he always tried to hide from others, but mostly from himself.

  
In the dark, the mirror was shattered. Revealing multiple reflections of himself, multiple truths about who he was. He always knew he was multiple, complex. This complexion that his environment never wanted to accept.

  
He never understood why people around him never wanted to see him entirely. See the black man, but also the indie rock fan, the soccer player, the artist, the friend, the lover, the immigrant, the clown, the ghost. He always wondered what they were seeing when looking at him.

  
He realized years after that what they wanted to see in him, was themselves. He turned into the mirror of their own limitations. He became their expansion. He became their strength and let them take his energy and vision away from him.

  
The only moment he was truly himself was in that dark bathroom, in front of the black mirror. Multiple faces, multiple realities, multiple outcomes.

  
He remembered his parents. When they moved to Belgium in the late 80’s. He remembered how they were acting different in front of white people… It was their way to survive a world that was openly violent with them.

  
Now that he is older, he tries to reclaim the past he never had to change his future. He tries to repopulate his memory with new memories and new experiences. But memory is a tricky one. There might be glitches and bugs, and digging in the past always brings unexpected things

  

Easier. Black Mirror - The Eraser, 2020.

He grew up in an African family in a predominantly white environment. From a young age, his friends, environment, and even sometimes his family made it very clear that he wasn’t Black enough, or too white. He was a Black kid trying to survive his own insecurities and problems while under pressure to be someone he wasn’t. Stuck somewhere in between.

  
Later, as a teenager, girls that he wanted to date repeatedly called him a Bounty \[chocolate bar\], white inside and black outside. That statement was hurtful. He was failing at being himself.

This changed his relationship with Black women. He always felt like he was failing them. So he tried to avoid them as much as possible.

  
It also changed his relationships with Black men.

  
As a teenager, he never really understood the concept of community. He didn’t have one. He had his family and his friends. His friends came from all different backgrounds.

One day, he was with who he thought were his friends. They had met another group of teenagers on a neighbourhood soccer field to play. They started arguing about who was going to play next and things escalated quickly. A fight was inevitable. Most of the kids there were white or brown. There were only two Black kids. One in each group.

  
One of his friends yelled to everyone that the two Black kids should fight to decide who was going to take the field. They physically pushed them toward each other. They fought. He won, but left. He went home and cried. He had no idea why he was crying.

  
Now he knows. Racism is not only about discrimination against Black people, it also teaches us to hate each other. It took him years to not see other Black men as threats but as people to be interested in, to talk to and to love.

  
Now that he’s older he wants to reclaim that past he never had. He’s trying to reimagine his memories with acceptance by the community. But memory is a tricky one... There might be some glitches and bugs.

  
And starting to dig the past always brings up unexpected things.

The Mother Lode. Domestic Attraction - The Eraser, 2020.

No More Runnin. Dark Side Of The Moon - The Eraser, 2020.

That night, he came back home after seeing his group of friends. Mostly white people. He remembers what they said that night. A lot of racist bullshits. It was more than usual, and he felt literally sick coming back home.

  
He entered the bathroom, it was dark. The light was broken… He couldn’t see his reflection in the mirror. The mirror was black. And for few seconds, he actually hoped he disappeared. He was afraid to see what was in the mirror. Someone he always tried to hide from others, but mostly from himself.

  
In the dark, the mirror was shattered. Revealing multiple reflections of himself, multiple truths about who he was. He always knew he was multiple, complex. This complexion that his environment never wanted to accept.

  
He never understood why people around him never wanted to see him entirely. See the black man, but also the indie rock fan, the soccer player, the artist, the friend, the lover, the immigrant, the clown, the ghost. He always wondered what they were seeing when looking at him.

  
He realized years after that what they wanted to see in him, was themselves. He turned into the mirror of their own limitations. He became their expansion. He became their strength and let them take his energy and vision away from him.

  
The only moment he was truly himself was in that dark bathroom, in front of the black mirror. Multiple faces, multiple realities, multiple outcomes.

  
He remembered his parents. When they moved to Belgium in the late 80’s. He remembered how they were acting different in front of white people… It was their way to survive a world that was openly violent with them.

  
Now that he is older, he tries to reclaim the past he never had to change his future. He tries to repopulate his memory with new memories and new experiences. But memory is a tricky one. There might be glitches and bugs, and digging in the past always brings unexpected things

Mirror Mirror. Black Mirror - The Eraser, 2020.

Phantom Other. Black Mirror - The Eraser, 2020.

He was road tripping with his parents and his older sister to Germany that summer. They stopped at a really low budget hotel on the highway. He was 6 years old. He remembers he couldn’t sleep that night because of the sound of the highway. The next day, his father and him played soccer in the parking lot while his sister and mom were hanging out on the grass.

  
Suddenly the ball went a little closer to the fences of the parking lot, close to the highway.

  
On the other side of the highway, he could see another highway hotel. But that one was a fancy one. He could see rich white families in the pool.

  
He remembers the patio was full of flowers. He was really jealous, and maybe a bit mad at his parents for staying in that low budget one.

  
He wanted to be on the other side of the highway.

  
It took him years to understand that he was exactly where he was supposed to be.

  
Now that he’s older, he’s trying to reclaim the past he never had. He’s trying to change his memories in order to change his future.

  
But digging the past might bring up unexpected things.

Keep The Car Running. Highway Reflection - The Eraser, 2020.

Dreams Tonite. Highway Reflection - The Eraser, 2020.

M: I remember like it was yesterday.

I was playing with my friends on the street, and I saw it appearing on my skin. I became different. I could see how those men would look at me.

  
K: I think I remember that day...

  
M: Every morning when I woke up, I was hoping they disappeared, but the patterns were more visible, taking over my body, polluting my thoughts

  
K: So what did you do?

  
M: I tried to love myself, even if I was different, I try to survive... My question is

  
"What did you do?"

  
I was there suffocating, breathing less and less, hoping for more oxygen everyday, and when I couldn’t see anymore, I was hoping for the warm feeling of your hand on my shoulder, I was hoping for a hand, I was hoping for a friend...

  
Where were you?

Keep On Mixing. Toxic patterns - Genetic Bomb, 2022.

M: After so many years, what can you say about me?

What’s the imprint I left on you?

I don’t wanna die in the dark

I don’t wanna go in the shadow of your love

  
R: The imprint you left on me?

Like they left on the moon?

Is it all about you?

What about me?

What about the darkness I always lived in?

I know the dark side of the moon

I was born there

I love you but please go

  
M: Are we doomed to be two pieces of an unfinished work?

Are we meant to never find closure in each other?

  
R: I was told to love you first… So were you

But I was meant to be adventurous, genuine, smart, creative, focused

  
M: Can you be all that in one person?

  
R: I will show you

Schizophrenal. Genetic Bomb, 2022.

Hidden Gems. Toxic Patterns - Genetic Bomb, 2022.

T: Are you happy?

F: I don't know

T: How can you not know? Are you happy or not?

F: I think so, but...

T: But what?

F: I think I would be a bit more happy the day I remove this patterns. I can barely breathe and see... I'm sure they're toxic!

T: It's the tradition. Thousands of people have worn it before you and didn't complain

F: Actually my mom was complaining about it all the time

T: You're making a drama of everything

F: Don't you want to see the real me?

T: If you remove it and see the world, you will leave me for sure

F: So it's not about the tradition, it's about you... right?

T: I don't wanna talk anymore

Distance Within. Toxic Patterns - Genetic Bomb, 2022.

I returned to my mother land after long years of absence. The mother of my dreams, the mother of my sins, the mother of my sun.

  
The eyes of a stranger, the smell of gas, a chorus playing from afar.

  
Something had changed, the place wasn’t the same anymore. The colors were washed out.

  
K: Why aren’t people dancing anymore?

  
E: I don’t know, it just happened.

  
K: When did it happen?

  
E: I can’t remember.

  
K: If I close my eyes can I see them dancing again?

  
E: Probably...

  
The colonial exploitation of our land and bodies is still washing out the essence of our mother. But even washed out, we will keep our true color.

  
I inherited of this bomb. It was my present from ancient times, received between their past and your future.

  
K: Please be there the day it explodes. An explosion of joy and perfume. The last explosion.

  
E: I can’t wait!

Love Factory. Washed Out - Genetic Bomb, 2022.

If it weren’t for you, I would have probably disappeared

If it weren’t for you, I would probably be whole

If it weren’t for you, I would have more tears to spare, many years to share

If it weren’t for you, I would have learned how to love

If it weren’t for you, I would see future instead of limbs

If it weren’t for you, I would never have denied my pain and chased that wealth

  
I would never have turned my back so many times and doubted my path

I would never have held your hands for so long and sang you that song

  
But I needed you to be you so I could become me

If you weren’t you, who would I be?

  
I needed you to be you so I could be me

But would I be you if you were me?

Hope & Despair. Toxic Patterns - Genetic Bomb, 2022.

F: Close your eyes.

K: Okay

F: Can you see me?

K: I can

F: Can you see yourself?

K: I can’t

F: Don’t worry, I have enough eyes on you for both of us

  
In the dark, it’s difficult to know what is ours and what isn’t

It’s easy to get confused on the limit of things.

It’s easy to get confused with truth and lies

  
That’s why we need a Genetic Bomb. It’s gonna change everything we know, but will bring the light we deserve

Got Blinded. Genetic Bomb, 2022.

My face disappeared.

You were there when it happened.

The strings started to dance in front of my eyes, I was hypnotized, I couldn’t move, I couldn’t think.

What a beautiful movement… the past.

The strings of the past are not honest.

Their colours are so vivid you can go back when everything happened, but it’s never exactly the same.

My high school diploma, my first hand shake, your birth…

  
K: Are they not fading after a while?

  
Y: Yeah they are… That’s why I have so many

  
K: Can you see past them?

  
Y: I don’t want to

  
K: Of Course… The String Theory!

  
Y: What do you mean?

  
K: Every event that happened to you constitute a string. They add up in front of your eyes until the only things you can think of is the past. They say the strings of the past sing in harmonies, the sound is so comfortable that you turn your back on the future forever. I think that’s what is happening to you…

  
Y: I don’t think so

  
K: I want you to have a better life, a life full of music and colours, but not that life.

You are the future, please take this bomb and destroy those strings even if they sing in harmonies…

  
The colonial and patriarchal dynamic of the world is based on those strings… let’s make our own music

Fading Frontier. String Theory - Genetic Bomb, 2022.

M: I don’t know if they realize... I had to wash my languages and my culture away for them

  
I used to be myself, I used to dance everyday, I used to break bread with my cousins

  
Now look at what they left us

  
You could say something! I just shared my thoughts with you...

  
W: I don’t know if you realize... I had to wash myself away for you

  
I used to be listened and cared for, I used to dance without fearing for my life, I used laugh with my brothers and sisters

  
Now when you look at me, it’s that woman you see... that woman you created in your mind... not me anymore

  
M: Oh... I guess we are even

  
W: Damn, you will never get it

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Kriss Munsya

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