“In the last, three, four years with getting more into satire and sketch comedy, in particular, I’ve realised that my role is valid, my role as the instigator and the reflector.”

Nounouche sat down to talk to multidisciplinary creative Céline Tshika to find out more about the expressions of activism, healing and vulnerability in her work. 

As she answers the video call with the clumsy, nervous ‘Hellos’ and ‘Can you hear me?’ of strangers meeting on the internet, I can’t help but relax. She casts a warm smile, seemingly assuring me that she is just as eager to share her story as I am to hear it. A smile that I will see many more times, accompanied by light chuckles and boisterous laughter. She sits on a balcony in a black tank top, with the warm glow of the summer sun on her skin and her rusty-brown box braids in a high bun. She smiles as she mentions that she is currently on a mid-year break at an international Jazz festival with her family. This is a great way to celebrate her recent birthday and recoup before her next run of shows and releases. 

As we begin, we laugh as she recounts mildly embarrassing moments from an advertising shoot that involved dog drool and a hair dryer. But as she considers her family’s role in her work, the humour shifts to thoughtful contemplation. “I don’t think my parents hindered it” she states pensively, “they probably didn’t have an understanding of it and their focus was ‘do good at school and then you can go do whatever.” 

Born in the DRC and raised in South Africa, she references the ‘good African child’, and a ‘good African child’ she was, collecting an Engineering degree before turning her attention entirely to the arts. With creative older siblings and last-born privilege, she chuckles, saying she just had to be serious and pursue her creative passions. 

From growing up in the church choir to her primary school friend group turned ‘Step-up’ dance crew, and a Drama teacher who encouraged her creativity, it’s difficult to imagine a Céline who wasn’t bound for the arts. “I just wanted to sing and dance… I wanted to be inside a Missy Elliot video, that was my goal… that was the first thing I ever wanted to be.” The shadow of a smirk crosses her face before she bursts out laughing. Then with a seriousness that doesn’t take itself too seriously, she says of Drama: “It did foster an element of criticising society and reflecting society”, a guiding element of her work as seen in her dialogues about feminism, gender equality, social issues, capitalism, and mental health. 

She presents these pressing issues that can feel overwhelming and isolating using a stylistic blend of sketch musical comedy, and satire. She celebrates Michaela Coel for the freedoms Coel has given her through her writing and creativity, stating “That was my origin story and seeing her exist as a black immigrant in the UK was just like OH! I feel seen for the first time. I get representation now”. 

She credits her undeniable love for satire to late-night comedy and Tina Fey’s ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’. She recalls an episode of Fey’s series as her introduction to mockumentaries and satire. Her love for mockumentaries and late-night comedy eventually led to her joining KG Mokgadi on ‘Politically Aweh’, the late-night satire podcast running its way through South African politics.

Céline loves to smile and she loves to laugh and in the time I have been talking with her, she has been doing both non-stop, but not as much as she is now. Her excitement about her collaborators and her team is irrepressible. Speaking on Mokgadi, Mikhaela Faye, and Meekaaeel Adam, there is an emphasis on the importance of collaboration in her work and of seeing the value other people bring. “Collaborating is the way to do it. Depending on people, especially when I care about the message that’s getting across. I care very much that it is perceived well or perceived in the way it’s intended to and for that I need feedback, I need input.” 

Her most recent collaboration was the viral musical comedy video ‘Capitalism’, on which she collaborated with Faye, Adam, Moya Marumo, Julia van der Leek and Wonderland Studios. The video touches on depression, capitalism and the rising cost of living, and the comments section is abuzz with engagement and debate. She says, on coping with the themes of her work, it is by “Drawing inspiration and knowing that I’m not the only one who feels this way. There are other people who are also wanting a different world and advocating for social change… it’s not just me.” Impressing again the importance of community for her living.

Another part of her ongoing work of finding little moments of joy is in swimming. “If I can be in water once a week, my mental health is okay. I swim for my mental health.” And with a soft yet deep appreciation for hers, she unwaveringly states: “Community does a lot. Friendships, just having really good friendships and relationships in my life is so necessary.”

With ‘Capitalism’ currently having 13 million views, Céline’s relationship with being witnessed and vulnerability is also changing rapidly, “That’s quite a lot” she begins, “I think that especially when I use humour to communicate stuff that comes from a real place. I’m not just like, haha funny out of nowhere. It comes from something. And I think that’s a lot. I think just knowing that as I make myself vulnerable and make myself seen, it allows other people to also just allow themselves to be like, okay, you know, I feel this too. And thank you so much for saying it. Then I start feeling a little bit more like, okay, that is actually the job of a creative, it’s to reflect the human experience. It keeps me going that vulnerability is part of it, you can’t have creativity without it.” She takes a moment of pause to recognise what she has just shared, I follow suit and we allow this moment. 

Having once questioned the artist she is, that sentiment seems to be waning as she grows not only in viewership and community but also in her trust in herself. She now claims her strength as a multidisciplinary creative and shares that she is growing more settled with what she has to offer the world. In her affirmations, she understands that she and her work have always been driven by the idea of having a strong vision. “I have an idea for something, even if I don’t know the details… this thing that I do naturally is actually something that is valuable.”

As we wind down our conversation, she hints at the possibility of her experimenting with a new genre soon. Before that, however, she plans to release her music on major streaming platforms while sharing more sketches. 

She offers another warm smile and a final thought not just to independent artists but to us all: “Allow yourself to go through the journey to find your thing, you know. A lot of times we have to do it all. Not forever. But, I think just my biggest lesson as an independent artist, as a freelancer, has been finding people I can depend on and allowing myself to depend on other people.”

You can catch Céline perform a mix of musical comedy, parodies and stand-up in Cape Town on July 21 at Heat Winter Arts Fest (Outlore) and July 27th at Prince and Friends (Homecoming Centre).