I pursue such research interests on the Basenji Dog of DR Congo as a body that positions itself, above all, as “autonomous” and non-relational. I first encountered the dog between 2019 and 2020, and it prompted me to look into the implications of speculative image reproduction—if an archival photograph can become an image, what else could it be? The archival image as an object opens a dialectical phase, moving from being a picture that is completed by a viewer to afford multiple reiterations for itself. 

In this way, the reproduction of images serves as a way to explore continuous events, such as what rehearsal and breathing may convey. However, this continuity is not seamless; it involves recognizing the gaps—between exhaling and inhaling, between the moments of rehearsal and pauses. 

Thinking about reproduced images, the space between when the image is reproduced and when it is not, or when it is in the process of being reproduced – reminds me of gaps that could become events in their own right, raising the question of what exactly is being reproduced in relation to the reproduction itself as an event. Therefore, gaps are not neutral moments but events that enable the rhythm to maintain its continuity. 

Chumba 2 frames itself as a reproduced archival image, where the presence of this dog in this archival picture becomes not just static but an imagery complex that opens the question of the dog itself. The female Basenji in heat during their seasonal estrus cycles passes pheromones through urine that signal their impending receptiveness to potential mates. The dog’s olfaction is a necessity for successful intimacy (coitus) to continue transforming itself. This process enables me to analyze the temperature generated by sauna conditions, the synthetic copy of the 'dog appeasing pheromone' mixed with water in the sauna stove, and the fragrance of essential oils as an object and a reproduced image. 

Reproductions of the image in this sense reveal crucial complexities in how this discussion around the Basenji is of the order of politics. Chumba 2 consists of a makeshift sauna. The warm and humid atmosphere within it either challenges the visitor’s respiration or enables them to be increasingly mindful of their breath.