For greater than a decade, Congolese artist Zemba Luzamba has been operating a political commentary alongside elegant work of women and men in vibrant fits.
Six males stand in a circle, making a toast. They’re wearing black fits and hats, one hand to their pockets and sporting eye-fitting glasses. in some portraits, they’re sporting boldly colored fits, with a strolling stick, or maybe they’re casually sitting and smoking pipes, however they’re all the time elegant. Such are the work of Luzamba, whose work is impressed by the inventive magnificence of the Congo’s ‘sapeurs’.
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of artist)
The sapeurs (from the Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes) are members of a trend subculture who’re pushed by quiet insurrection. Luzamba has been capturing their magnificence in his work over the previous decade, exploring themes of migration, identification and politics in vibrant work that draw on his expertise and what he has witnessed.
His present exhibition, ‘Angalia Kwa Karibu (Look Shut)’, is open at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery in London and, as soon as once more, is heavy on his apply as a realist who blends facets of the previous into the modern, to critique fashionable political constructions that have an effect on the Democratic Republic of Congo and the world past.
Zumba Luzamba on his apply and the sapeurs
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of artist)
‘Carrying a go well with and tie grew to become an act of refined resistance – a reclaiming of dignity and freedom’
Zumba Luzamba
Wallpaper*: Your work typically options sharply dressed males. Why have been you impressed by the Sapeurs?
Zemba Luzamba: Being neatly dressed has all the time been part of my identification. I used to be naturally drawn to the sapeurs – their daring color combos, confidence, and magnificence deeply resonate with me. However past the model, there’s a strong historic and cultural significance. Within the Sixties and 70s, throughout President Mobutu’s regime, Western-style fits have been banned in favour of the abacost, an emblem of political allegiance. In response, sporting a go well with and tie grew to become an act of refined resistance – a reclaiming of dignity and freedom. My work attracts from that legacy. The figures I paint are trend icons they usually embody pleasure, resilience, and cultural reminiscence.
W*: Are you a sapeur your self?
ZL: I feel everybody in Congo has a sapeurs contact. It’s one thing you might be born into however determine if it’s a path you wish to observe.
‘I draw folks in with model in order that they’ll sit with deeper themes. That’s precisely what Black dandyism is about
Zemba Luzamba
W*: The Met Gala 2025 theme honoured black dandyism and the sapeurs as a part of these shaping African trend. What did you assume?
ZL: Curiously, [The Met’s ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’] is coinciding with my very own exhibition, which makes it really feel very significant.
The popularity is essential not simply to the Black neighborhood and their contribution to international trend and tradition, but additionally for the sapeurs, who’re uplifting their communities by means of their artwork. A lot of my work has been utilizing their very own visible language to speak about social points, and sometimes, I draw folks in with model in order that they’ll sit with deeper themes. That’s precisely what Black dandyism is about. It makes you perceive folks, not solely of their magnificence or what they put on, it tells you a a lot bigger story. Having my exhibition concurrently this international celebration – it is just like the world is lastly catching as much as the message. And I really feel extremely proud to be a part of that dialog.
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of artist)
W*: How did your apply as a painter start?
ZL: My ardour for artwork started again within the early Eighties. I was utterly obsessive about comedian books. I might even draw the characters on the partitions of our household residence. That early enthusiasm stayed with me, and once I reached secondary college, I made a decision to pursue it extra critically. I enrolled at Technical Institute of Plastic Artwork (ITAP), an artwork college in Lubumbashi, the place I started formal coaching. Rising up in a middle-class household, pursuing a profession in artwork wasn’t seen as a good path – artwork was typically dismissed as a pastime reasonably than a severe occupation. So, I initially studied literature, however rapidly realised it wasn’t the place my ardour lay. I discovered myself often visiting a neighborhood artwork college, and by grade 9, I made the daring resolution to enroll – a lot to my father’s dissatisfaction. It took time and persistence, however I ultimately satisfied him to assist my alternative.
After matriculating, I continued my artwork research at a school in Lusaka, Zambia. That journey got here with many challenges. We struggled financially, and since I spoke French, there have been language limitations, and documentation points, however I used to be decided. Throughout this time, I had the privilege of aiding David Chibwe, a revered Zambian artist. Beneath his mentorship, I realized the foundational abilities of portray, ranging from making ready canvases to understanding composition and method. By the late Nineteen Nineties, job alternatives for creatives have been extraordinarily restricted. So, in pursuit of broader visibility and prospects, I made the choice to maneuver south and proceed constructing my path as an artist.
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of artist)
W*: How do you stability aesthetic magnificence with political commentary in your artwork?
ZL: I create works which are visually nice, with highly effective messages of social or political commentary within the composition, to encourage viewers to have interaction with them. My goal is to attract viewers in and encourage them to assume extra deeply on what they don’t see. In my work, I deliberately create compositions which are visually harmonious or pleasing, whether or not by means of the usage of color or simply doing what I do with the sapeurs and their trend sense. This preliminary aesthetic attraction attracts the viewer in; I would like them to linger lengthy sufficient to start asking questions on class, energy, migration, identification, or post-colonial struggles.
W*: Your work all the time leads with themes of resistance, self-expression and neighborhood, why is that?
ZL: I imply, we already reside on a continent the place there’s a lot inequality and even oppression. Injustice is a part of our on a regular basis life. It was vital to stipulate these realities in my work, but additionally utilizing the sapeurs’ story as a type of historical past to deal with what is going on now. Self-expression by means of protest provides room for extra hope.
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of artist)
W*: Apart from the sapeurs, who’re the artists or thinkers which have most affected your work?
ZL: I don’t assume I can say however I do know It depends upon the time period. I’m continuously studying and evolving. I want to not restrict myself to only a few influences – each inventive and thinker I encounter, whether or not grasp or newer voices, leaves an impression on my work.
W*: What is the story behind your new sequence of labor and the exhibition, ‘Angalia Kwa Karibu (Look Shut)’?
ZL: ‘Angalia Kwa Karibu’ is a Swahili phrase which means ‘pay shut consideration’. The thought behind it was to broaden on politics and neighborhood as a complete. I needed to speak in regards to the monetary burden on profitable Black people who’re anticipated to assist members of the family as a method of paying them again for the care and schooling they acquired in childhood. The tax just isn’t a standard apply and is seen as a cultural obligation. I additionally needed to discover the hope that may be present in on a regular basis new beginnings. In one of many photos, you’ll see an egg, which stands as a conventional image of origin and beginning, its golden shell suggesting wealth. Additionally, you will discover a group of males gathering in a circle to drink whisky as a ritual of celebration, and that was my method of celebrating the neighborhood. Magnificence is all the time a part of life, however the extra attentively we glance, the extra we will uncover what’s hidden beneath the floor.
‘Angalia Kwa Karibu (Look Shut)’ is on view on the Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery London till 31 Might 2025, kristinhjellegjerde.com
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of artist)
Supply: Wallpaper
