It Is What It Is. Zemba L u z a m b a EBONY Cape Town October 2015

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1 It Is What It Is Zemba L u z a m b a EBONY Cape Town October 2015

2 Zemba Luzamba was born in 1973 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He attended the Institut Technique d Art Plastique and then the Evelyn Hone College of Applied Art in Lusaka, Zambia. Zemba currently lives and works in Cape Town.

3 A painter, Zemba deploys realist modes to striking, sometimes graphic effect. Thematically, many of his works engage with the experiences of migrant communities. Initially these dealt predominantly with chronicling hardships, from illicit border crossings to harsh work and living conditions. His focus has shifted towards representing leisure spaces, capturing migrants in poolhalls, gambling dens, as well as on the golf course and tennis court. As an acute observer of people and a skillful artist, Zemba has produced many memorable images of mundane, everyday events such as figures smoking, dressing, even at the urinal. Apart from his everyday scenes, Zemba has produced images that reflect on Congolese history, referencing political figures such as Patrice Lumumba and Mobutu Sese Seko. However, one of his most enigmatic qualities is that, despite the vividness of individual images, the viewer is often not certain whether the subject is located in the Congo, South Africa or elsewhere. Similarly, it is not always clear whether one is observing a historical or contemporary event. This non-specificity introduces an ambivalence that is open-ended, signaling a departure from the didacticism that is commonly associated with realist painting. - Mario Pissarra, 2015

4 Whistle Blower O i l o n C anvas cm X 120cm

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6 Visionaries (are we going forward or just looking) Oil on Canvas c m X 90cm

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8 Two Heads (generation kitoko) O i l o n C anvas c m X 92cm

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10 Independence Day (after independence = before independence) Oil on Canvas c m X 150cm

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12 Sapologie O i l o n C anvas cm X 120cm

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14 Red Carpet O i l o n C anvas cm X 150cm

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16 Man in the Mirror O i l o n C anvas cm X 92cm

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18 Mr Chairman O i l o n C anvas cm X 120cm

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20 Shadow of a Dictator (is hunting the people) Oil on Canvas c m X 110cm

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22 The Entourage Oil on Canvas c m X 100cm

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24 First Lady O i l o n C anvas cm X 60cm

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26 SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2013 Perspectives and Dramascapes with Wycliffe Mundopa, Ebony Cape Town 2012 LA SAPE, AVA Gallery, Cape Town 2004 Untitled, AVA Gallery, Cape Town 2005 Hope for Refugees, Rome, Italy GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2015 THAT Art Fair, Cape Town 2015 In Print/ In Focus, Michaelis Galleries, Cape Town 2014 Inner Nature, EBONY, Cape Town 2014 Emergence, EBONY, Cape Town :54, Somerset House, London 2013 Cape Town Art Fair 2011 Art for Africa, Sotheby s New York, NYC 2008 Hifa, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare 2007 AVA, Cape Town 2007 Blank Projects, Cape Town 2007 Sanlam Gallery 2006 Voyage Ensemble, Scalabrini Centre, Cape Town 2006 Picasso and Africa, Alliance Francaise, Cape Town 2005 Piacenza, Italy 2005 Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town 2003 Xenophobia, Alliance Francaise Cape Town 1996 P.E.L.Group of Artists, Lusaka, Zambia 1995 Visual Art Council, Lusaka, Zambia

27 COLLECTIONS Nandos, London UK Nandos, South Africa Scalabrini House, Bassano Del Grappa, Italy Cultures Inc, California Museum of Modern Art, Equatorial Guinea Private Collections in South Africa, Italy and America. PUBLICATIONS 2015 The Guardian Newspaper (25/03), Financial Times, London 2010 Mario Pissarra, Zemba Luzamba; Migrant Perspectives, Critical Interventions: Journal of African Art History and Visual Culture 2005 South African Art Diary DOCUMENTARIES Zemba Luzamba, Directed by Beki Boneni, Uvimba Media 2015

28 Zemba Luzamba 2015 Introduction: Mario Pissarra, In Print/In Focus. Cape Town: ASAI Publications Design and Layout: Sam Rietmann

29 October 2015