12 digital c-type prints on Fuji paper
14 x 14 cm (each, unframed) 32.5 x 31 x 3 cm (each, framed)

Samson Kambalu, who was born in Malawi but has lived in London for several decades, frequently brings his sense of home into his work. Regularly working in series, his works are playful and open to interpretation – using art as a mediator for a moment in time. His drawings, paintings, installations, and videos often draw on personal or historical narratives interpreted with a sense of playfulness rather than transgression.

In Samson Kambalu’s Mboya Series, images of Kenyan politician Tom Mboya have been paired with photographs of 44th United States president Barack Obama, both of whom are admired for their charm, leadership, and intelligence. Kambalu makes frequent use of historical archives in his practice – these images of Mboya were sourced from the Eliot Elisofon Archives at the Smithsonian Institute – yet he also understands technology as making the world smaller and enabling the individual to place themselves in a historical context: Thus, he has sourced the images of Obama from the internet. Here, Kambalu has achieved significant connection between political personas spanning both time and place.
– Alicia Reuter

* in 1975 in Malawi | Living and working in London, England