Samson Kambalu

Samson Kambalu has generously produced three limited editions; The Name of the Father (on Matriarchy), 2023, To Say That I Am Making Art is Rather Funny, 2023, and The Post Traumatic Subject in Blue, 2023, on the occasion of the exhibition, A World in Common: Contemporary African Photography at Tate Modern, 6 July 2023 – 14 January 2024.

Kambalu’s limited editions for Tate are part of an ongoing series inspired by his childhood memory of collecting bubble gum cards of the flags of the world. In the past 20 years he has travelled all over the world, developing his work in different cities and collecting national flags on his phone as he goes. With an interest in the things that connect us rather than divide us, these flags are shuffled, manipulated and reimagined using smartphone technology. The resulting abstract patterns and vibrant colours recall the tribal markings of Kuba textiles. Giving visual form to the transitional politics of nation states, Kambalu’s flags question the limits of national identity.

Each print is signed and numbered by the artist and comes unframed. Prices of the artwork are liable to change. As a limited edition sells out, prices of the artwork are subject to increase and the price will be clearly indicated.

• Artist Samson Kambalu
• Artwork The Name of the Father (on Matriarchy)
• Exhibition A World in Common
• Dimensions 30 x 30 cm
• Material Digital print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl paper
• Date of work 2023

Samson Kambalu (b. 1975, Malawi) works in a variety of media, including site-specific installation, video, performance and literature. His work is autobiographical and approaches art as an arena for critical thought and sovereign activities. He draws influence from the Nyau prestation social structures of his native Malawi and the Protestant tradition of inquiry, criticism and dissent. Balancing philosophy and play, his work aims to skew our reading of cultural behaviour and customs, and to seek out a shared humanity.

Selected solo exhibitions include Fracture Empire, Culturgest, Lisbon, Portugal, 2021; Fracture Republic, Galerie Nordenhake, Stockholm, Sweden 2021; Fractured Mission, Magdalen College Old Library, Oxford, 2021; Beni, Kate MacGarry, London, 2021; New Liberia, Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, 2021, and Black Jack, Southbank, London, 2021. Other exhibitions and projects include Dakar Biennale, Senegal, 2014 and 2016, the Liverpool Biennial, UK, 2004 and 2016, and All the World’s Futures, Venice Biennale, Italy, 2015. Kambalu’s Antelope was recently selected for the Fourth Plinth Commission in Trafalgar Square, September 2022 to 2024. He has been awarded research fellowships with Yale University and Smithsonian Institution and is an associate professor of fine art at Ruskin College and a fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford University. He lives and works in Oxford UK.