Exhibitions

Hidden Gems — Mulenga J Mulenga

Begun around 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hidden Gems responds to the experiences of girls affected by sexual abuse in Zambia. Rather than portraying pain or vulnerability, Mulenga J Mulenga presents her subjects through dignity, beauty, strength and hope, while exploring identity, social expectations and resilience.

Dialogue Between Us explores self-identity, personal freedom and the courage to move beyond social expectations. Sitting on the Stool of Wisdom reflects on female identity, ancestry and the strength carried through generations. Together, these works celebrate resilience, dignity and the potential of every child.

Lusaka on Time — Mulenga Chafilwa

Created specially for the British High Commission, 2025.

This vibrant work captures the busy streets of Lusaka, bringing together local figures, shops, movement, and everyday moments. Chafilwa uses acrylic and mixed media on canvas to create a lively, textured scene that reflects the energy and character of the city.

The painting also carries a sense of dark humour and playful observation. The unusual signs, phrases, and small details invite the viewer to look more closely, revealing the wit and contradictions of everyday street life. Through colour, texture, and humour, Chafilwa captures not only the appearance of Lusaka, but also its personality, people, and stories.

The 100 — Nukwase Tembo

Two works from an ongoing series of 100 portraits exploring the many ways African hair can be adorned, styled, and transformed.

The chitenge "skin" represents culture — how, oftentimes, it is worn like a costume or a mask: static, inherited, and seemingly unchanged. Yet beneath that surface, culture is constantly evolving with time. In the same way, we often wear unchanged masks to conceal our true selves, even as our identities continue to shift and grow.

Each face in the series tells a story of the self while deliberately omitting defining features such as the eyes and nose. This absence invites the viewer to look beyond the familiar visual markers through which we instinctively judge appearance. By removing these features, Nukwase asks: how would we relate to one another if we could no longer rely on the things that make us judge appearances before understanding what makes others human?

Through hair, expression, absence, and cultural symbolism, the series explores identity, perception, self-expression, and the tension between what we wear, what we inherit, and who we are becoming.

VeraCity (2022) — Mwamba Mulangala

These works formed part of VeraCity, Mwamba Mulangala's 2022 solo exhibition, inspired by the energy, people, and social realities of urban Lusaka. His paintings combine thick, expressive applications of acrylic with unconventional and found surfaces, including polyethylene fabric, cardboard, packaging, newspaper, and previously used canvas — materials that become part of the imagery itself, creating distinctive textures and a strong sense of material presence.

Women occupy a particularly important place within this body of work. Mulangala portrays them with individuality and complexity, exploring themes of identity, dignity, beauty, resilience, desire, agency, and social perception. His female figures move between personal portraiture and broader reflections on the position of women within contemporary Zambian society.