In 2023, Klaus Hartmann initiated the exhibition “Two Lizzards I Sharing One Stomach” in collaboration with Modzi Arts, Lusaka, Zambia and M.Bassy, Hamburg. Artists involved: Lawrence Chikwa, Isaac Kalambata, Maingaila Muvundika, Mapopa Hussein Manda, Agness Buya Yombwe, Lawrence Yombwe.
www.m-bassy.org/en/programm/two-lizzards-sharing-one-stomach
A press release and exhibition handout sent by Marleen-Christine Linke cited Taonga Julia Kaunda-Kaseka, co-curator of the exhibition and director of Modzi Arts stating, “Art spaces like Modzi Arts and Wayi Wayi are connectors and negotiators. Togetherness is their core principle. We pay special attention to rituals around togetherness and frame these as a starting point to engage with the collective mind. We deconstruct models of sharing and try to go back in history to find stories that discuss notions of being together. The title of this group exhibition Two Lizzards | Sharing One Stomach is emblematic for our curatorial idea of what sharing with the past means to these different artists.”
According to the press release, “The six artists involved are rooted within the country, fully working within Zambian narratives. What their diverse oeuvres have in common within the frame of paintings, sculpture, video, installation, and digital art is that they speak to the ideas of sharing within a future of Zambia, reflecting on past social and collectively anchored values, myths, and taboos,” it reads in part. “Lawrence Yombwe and his wife Agness Buya Yombwe explore indigenous knowledge systems–in particular, that of the Mbusa of the Bemba people and its related tribes of north-eastern Zambia. Mbusa, or “things handed down”, refers to the pottery, sculpture, and wall paintings which are central to the Bemba girls’ initiation and wedding ceremonies.”
Still on the Yombwes it states “The enigmatic landscape paintings of Lawrence Yombwe integrate encoded symbols functioning as a system of orientation for young men and women on how to respect and love. Agness Buya’s artistic practice and activism is an ongoing investigation process into silenced socio-political and environmental narratives in different societies that continues to question the human condition.”
It further reads “The painted collages in mock newspaper style of Mapopa Hussein Manda distinctively position the artist as a socio-political commentator. Similar to Buya Yombwe he uses painted text adding another medial dimension to his works. Words also play a role in the oeuvre of Isaac Kalambata who is blackening out texts and narratives to draw attention to colonial legacies and misrepresentations in Zambian day-to-day politics and laws,”and goes on to state that “Similarly, Lawrence Chikwa often integrates Bibles or other religious books of different language into his works to stimulate a discourse about sovereignty in Zambian heritage. The youngest artist of the group is Maingaila Muvundika who experiments with digital collages of own photographs to cherish social customs in pre-colonial Zambia focusing on collective gain rather than personal interest.”
It is true that, at 24, Muvundika is the youngest artist in the show, and that, compared to the other artists, he is also the least well-known in Zambia, it is consequently essential to single him out for a brief introduction. Born in Chingola, he is also a passionate photographer and his work examines the interactions between various community demographic factors and how individuals negotiate being a part of the larger community. Muvundika frequently incorporates staged scenarios and costumes into his photographic portraits, which are based on his own observations and references. He uses his phone to generate photographs that explore themes such as individualism, fashion, spirituality, beauty standards, and belonging, asking questions about the formation of identity and self.
As a project, the exhibition was initiated by Klaus Hartmann and artists who activated and supported it actively in its realisation alongside Taonga Julia Kaunda-Kaseka. Hartmann attended a residence at Modzi Arts in 2021 and while in Zambia he developed friendships with not only the Yombwes the co-founders of Wayi Wayi Art Studio & Gallery, Livingstone, but he spent some days at artists Patrick and Esnart Mwemba`s farm nearby Choma.
“Two Lizzards | Sharing One Stomach”, runs at the M.Bassy until the 15th of December 2023 and is funded by the Liebelt-Stiftung, Hamburg as well as by the Ministry of Culture and Media, Hamburg.
The exhibition may not be a large blockbuster exhibition, but it is nevertheless worthy of praise, especially when independent creative companies like Modzi and artists are able to create a display that transcends national boundaries on their own. Younger group members like Manda, Kalambata, and Muvundika will also benefit from the show by getting some exposure in Europe.
A Zambian art space called Modzi is centred on the city of Lusaka. The NGO links people from a multidisciplinary perspective to share, experiment, and present bodies of work in the domains of visual arts, music, performance, research, and curatorial practise. It has a strong interest in sharing as a point of interaction and experience of sharing. With the goal of offering a cohesive venue for information sharing, celebration, experimentation, interaction, and discourse within the arts, Modzi was founded in 2016. A six-person board of directors oversees Modzi Arts, and they are all in favour of voluntary strategic direction. The Swiss Development Agency’s Pro Helvetia Johannesburg and Music in Zambia’s Sound Connect Fund provide the institution with its primary funding as an art institution.
ANDREW MULENGA
The Article is written by Zambian Art Historian Andrew Mulenga and published in The Mast on November 18, 2023.