Jean Katambayi Mukendi Lights a Path toward Decolonization
At Ramiken, New York, the artist’s eccentric drawings of light bulbs take a deft look at colonialism in Africa
The iconic shape of an incandescent light bulb arises from the need to safeguard a delicate thread of tungsten from corrosion and impact. This relationship between enclosure and filament takes on fantastical new forms in Jean Katambayi Mukendi’s ‘Afrolampes’
drawings (2016-ongoing), 11 of which form the basis for his first US exhibition, ‘Quarantaine’, at Ramiken, New York. These works depict highly eccentric light bulbs through the meticulous use of a ballpoint pen, compass and straightedge. Precise but not mechanical, the slight variations of Mukendi’s hand-drawn lines give these works a subtle vibration.