Lost Garden & Eaten Apples

Curatorial Text

Lawrence Chikwa’s solo exhibition Lost Garden & Eaten Apples reflects on Zambia’s journey as a postcolonial nation, openly questioning Zambia’s classification as a so-called “Third World“ nation. The title of the exhibition uses the image of a mythical garden to symbolize Africa as a once-lost paradise—a place with a bitter past, where its people question whether they must continue tasting the bitterness of past struggles or seek new means to cultivate a different future. By crafting and weaving this layered narrative, Lawrence Chikwa’s diverse body of work evokes the imagery of Zambia’s journey and the shifts between modernity and nature, traditional practices, and symbols of power.

For Ba Chikwa, “Zambian history is closely tied to British imperial expansion, driven by missionaries and explorers seeking cultural, political, and economic wealth through territorial conquest. However, the benefits of this expansion have not fully materialized, as Zambia struggles to catch up in today’s fast-paced globalized world. For sustainable development, it is crucial to incorporate local values and interests.”