Ukupupuka: An Exploration of Transcendence – Works by Aaron Samuel Mulenga
Please join us on January 22, 5-6pm for an artist talk at the Sesnon Gallery on the UC Santa Cruz campus. The gallery is located at Porter College, above the koi pond
Ukupupuka, translated from Bemba (the most spoken language in Zambia) to English, means flight. In Ukupupuka: An Exploration of Transcendence, Zambian multi-disciplinary artist and scholar Aaron Samuel Mulenga explores various visual avenues of elevation and flight which allow one to transcend their physical limitations. Mulenga excavates the historic narratives of marginalized African individuals who contributed to significant moments of history like the First World War, while also envisioning the future through a Black African lens. By suturing together the past with the contemporary moment, the artist acknowledges life’s cyclical nature which sees the past, present and the future as flowing into one another. Transcendence becomes an avenue through which one can tap into both the past and the future while existing in the present.
Aaron Samuel Mulenga is a multi-disciplinary artist and scholar from Zambia, now residing in Santa Cruz, California. Since 2015 his work has been exhibited in galleries and institutions including the Iziko Museum, and SMAC gallery in Cape Town, the Henry Tayali gallery, 37 D gallery and Modzi Arts Gallery in Lusaka. Aaron has participated in several art exhibitions such as the second Congo Biennial, 2022, in Kinshasa, D.R Congo, the Johannesburg Art Fair, 2022, and the Stellenbosch Triennial in 2020, in South Africa. Aaron holds a B.F.A. from the University of Cape Town, an M.F.A from Rhodes University and an M.A from the University of California Santa Cruz where he is currently pursuing a P.h.D in History of Art and Visual Culture.
The exhibition runs from January 8 – February 8, 2025.
Sesnon Gallery hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 12-5pm