OXFORD.- For his largest solo exhibition to date, Oxford-based Malawian artist Samson Kambalu (b. 1975) creates a powerful installation that suggests an initiation ceremony for a utopia of international racial justice that values each person equally. His concept of a “New Liberia”, marks a tidal change in attitudes generated by the pandemic and the global Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. Samson Kambalu: New Liberia runs at Modern Art Oxford from 22 May until 5 September 2021 and admission is free.

Interweaving Malawian culture and European philosophy, Kambalu’s work is articulated with colour, humour and intelligence. This exhibition combines video, film, texts and sculptures. His work is rooted in the eclectic beliefs and events of his childhood in Malawi, watching makeshift cinema, Nyau dances (a secret society of the Chewa tribe in Malawi), and playground swaps of national flag cards, all whilst growing up under the regime of ‘Life President’ Banda, following independence from British colonial rule. In this show he explores these childhood experiences and his current life as an Oxford University Don.

Kambalu says ‘New Liberia comes out of the time lag between aspects of early 20th century Malawian modernist cultures and current various emancipatory social and political movements. With this solo show, I would like to pay homage to a hidden heritage that has been in operation in my work as a contemporary artist of African origin’.

Within the main installation at Modern Art Oxford, two large elephant structures created from Oxford University gowns fuse the animal costumes of initiation ceremonies he witnessed as a child, with the costumed rituals in which he participates in the academic community of the University of Oxford.

New works in other mediums that explore the witnessing of emancipatory activities include a series of films, ‘Nyau Cinema’ in which Kambalu appears as an ‘everyman’ who embraces personal freedom to escape the limitations of everyday life.

Emma Ridgway, Chief Curator, Modern Art Oxford, says ‘Samson Kambalu is outstanding at insightful connections between a diverse range of fascinating people and communities – from Nyau to Ruskin to Chilembwe to the Situationists – that have all stood up to the dehumanising effects of industrial capitalism in unique ways. Brought together by Kambalu’s creative wit, his art installations may spark fresh ideas of how we can embrace our innate freedoms in life.’

Oxford based artist and writer Samson Kambalu (b. 1975 Chiradzulu, Malawi), studied at the University of Malawi, Nottingham Trent University and Chelsea College of Art and Design. His work has been exhibited around the world, including Dakar Biennale, Tokyo International Art Festival, and the Liverpool Biennial, and featured in All the World’s Futures, Venice Biennale 2015, curated by Okwui Enwezor. Kambalu’s work is part of the national art collections of Tate, the British Council, and the Contemporary Art Society, and his research fellowships include Yale University and the Smithsonian Institution. He is on the current shortlist for the Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth Commission. Kambalu is an associate professor of fine art at The Ruskin School of Art and fellow at Magdalen College, University of Oxford.