He works primarily with acrylic on raw and reclaimed wood. This choice is fundamental to his practice. Katshiunga seeks out wood that already carries a history, preserving its grain, scars and imperfections. Just as people carry traces of their past, the material itself carries its own memory. “THE WOOD HAS LIVED. JUST LIKE EVERY FACE I PAINT.” Drawing on his own experience of migration between Kinshasa and Belgium, Katshiunga explores how individual lives connect to broader social and historical narratives. His portraits move between the intimate and the collective, addressing themes of origin, decolonisation, resilience, cultural identity and belonging. The face becomes more than an image: it becomes a bearer of history and an invitation to encounter. This artistic language has brought his work from exhibition spaces into institutional collections. His Authenticité series was presented in Antwerp, at the Belgian Federal Parliament and in The Hague. Inspired by his monumental work The Seven Dead of Antwerp, the MAS | Museum aan de Stroom invited him to create a new interpretation for the exhibition Vracht: The Seven Souls of Antwerp. Executed on wenge wood from Central Africa — material that, for Katshiunga, refers to origin, memory and the connection with ancestors — the work was subsequently acquired by the MAS for its permanent collection. His portrait of Dr Denis Mukwege was also exhibited at the MAS, while his work Patrice Lumumba entered the collection of the University of Antwerp. In 2015, Katshiunga received the Artist Award from the Africa Film Festival. Katshiunga does not paint faces simply to be looked at. He paints stories that ask to be remembered.