early life and training cheik ledy, known by his professional name cheik ndoluvualu, was a congolese artist born in 1962 in kinto m’vuila, democratic republic of congo. he began his artistic journey under the guidance of his elder brother, chéri samba, a renowned sign painter. after leaving school in 1977, ndoluvualu worked as samba's assistant for a decade in his kinshasa studio, honing his skills and developing his unique style. artistic style and themes ndoluvualu's paintings often featured caricatures, characterized by their use of bright colors and bilingual texts in french and lingala.…