The Afronauts

"Africa is known for its bold, unapologetic use of colour. Stories are told in pigments, tones and hues; a kaleidoscope as diverse as the cultures and peoples of the continent. For the initiative Colours of Africa, a collaborative project with Google Arts & Culture, we asked 60 African creatives to capture the unique spirit of their country in a colour which represents home to them.

The projects they have created are personal and distinct stories of Africa, put into images, videos, texts and illustrations. Each artist has also attempted to articulate what being African means to their identity and view of the world.

Colour:Copper
Country:Zambia

Artwork Rationale:

Copper is the colour of Zambia. The colour makes me think of the mineral, and copper is Zambia’s top export and has even given the nation its nickname, 'country of copper'.

Copper the mineral can be transformed into a wire that can be used to power a nation, it is a hopeful colour.

There was a Zambian man named Edward Makuka Nkoloso who began his own space programme in the 1960s. An original Afronaut, he hoped to send a Zambian girl to space. He didn’t get there, but he helped the people of our country imagine life beyond their limits and literally encouraged us to reach for the stars.

Zambians are hopeful and determined people, copper is the colour of dreams.

Copper
Aaron Samuel Mulenga

I chose the colour Copper because
Just like a pauper I want
To move from rags to riches.
I want to get fine linen
Instead of patched up stitches

I chose the colour Copper because
I believe it is a colour of Hope!
One that can move our country’s
Tattered economy forward,
But not as a trope

I could get into fiscal policy
And financial jargon, but I’d rather
Focus on the legacy
That this colour provides.
Like its mineral counterpart, its weight
Can be measured in Gold.

This colour is reminiscent of
The Copper Crosses used as currency in my country
Though, now a memory,
These crosses paved the way for modern commerce.

A hopeful people, stirred by
The mixture of earthy tones from
The brownish red copper colour,
We commercialised this resource
By mass production into wire, we provided Power!

With such innovation came the determination
To reach for the stars.
Hope soared as Zambia’s Nkoloso conjured up
An Afronaut Space Programme.
Though unable to reach its galactic destination

The memory of undying determination remains,
That one day soon,
We too,
Shall rise above
Our momentary troubles.

What it means to be African

Being African means being part of a community that cares. I think about Ubuntu and being one with another. A lot of people I have come in contact with on the continent have been willing to lend a helping hand and be a part of my journey even knowing who I am. This sense of community and selflessness describes what it means to be African for me.

Biography

Visual artist Aaron Samuel Mulenga grew up in Kitwe, a mining town in Zambia. He is currently pursuing a PhD in the History of Art and Visual Culture at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
His practice has looked at transcendence and how it can be represented through various forms of spirituality with a particular focus on the Christian faith as well as aspects of Zambian culture. During his masters at Rhodes University he created a body of work called Icilengwa Lesa: Transcendence Through Flight (2019).
Ideas surrounding power and culture, particularly Zambian culture heritage have motivated a lot of the work Mulenga creates. He operates in several mediums to tell stories about Zambia and the African continent, often creating three-dimensional objects and sculptures.
Mulenga has worked in bronze, photography, painting and drawing. In 2017 he participated in a bronze-sculpting residency with the Falconer Foundry. He has also participated in a number of group exhibitions such as And Counting, Johannesburg Art Gallery (2019); Converge, Grahamstown National Arts Festival (2018); Disclosure, SMAC Gallery (2017); Salvage in Port Elizabeth (2017); and the Absa L'atelier in Johannesburg (2016).

"