Details — Click to read

Untitled (2022) by David Daut Makala is a unique mixed-media work in which a hand-drawn dog intersects reproduced pages from legal documents of the Supreme Court of Zambia, partially visible beneath translucent layers of image and text. Geometric measurements and annotations evoke systems of classification and control, situating the image within a framework of institutional authority.

The work reflects Makala’s ongoing investigation into postcolonial structures of governance and identity, positioning subjectivity as a condition negotiated between externally imposed systems and individual agency.

Gum print, chine collée, and pencil on Laurier paper, 250 g/m²
42 × 35.5 cm
2022

David Daut Makala

David Daut Makala (b.1983) is a self-taught artist from Lusaka, Zambia, where he currently lives and works. Makala is renowned for his versatility with materials, blending sculpture, painting, printmaking, digital art and performance. Makala considers his studio practice a form of research space where thoughts and ideas gather, resulting in exquisite pieces of art. For David, the processes involved in production also allow for greater interrogations of themes such as identity politics and mapping.