"Interested in the role of the artist as mythmaker, Lakwena explores how this translates into contemporary popular culture. Concerned with the significance of how and who we decorate, and what this reflects about our values and beliefs, Lakwena positions kaleidoscopic colours, bold pattern and adornment as powerful signifiers to redefine and reassign value and glory"
Jealous - 2020
Based in London, Lakwena employs bright colour and bold text to create paintings which, often appearing in public spaces in the form of murals, can be understood to be “escape routes, Afrofuturistic portals to utopia”. These paintings are, in many ways, reminiscent of Fiorucci’s stores, which have always been filled with brightly-coloured objects. The starting point for Lakwena’s collaboration with Fiorucci began with a visit to the label’s archive, where she learned about its connection to the golden age of disco in 1970s New York; to people dancing, celebrating and having a good time. And while this moment cannot be recreated, it’s this energy that she wanted to channel into the collection.
