BAMBA!
Held In Tension
Los Angeles, 2022
Hot- and cold-rolled mild steel, cold-rolled by hand; coal-fired, hand-forged, polished, and wax-sealed
Internal diameter: 57 in (145 cm) | Weight: 180 lb (82 kg)
Series: 1/1 | P.O.A.
Bamba! proposes that individuality and difference are the very forces through which human community is formed.
In soot and dust, a sphere of black and silver emerges, of contrast and shadow, of many imperfect parts. It rises from the smoke as Bambanani (Zulu for “to hold each other”), as Bamba! - the call to hold.
The sculpture invites visitors to sit within its circular form and explore the textured rings that shape its exoskeleton. Please touch the art. Each ring bears the marks of its making, hammered, tempered, and distinct, yet held in tension with the others to create a unified structure.
Forged by 115,000 hammer strikes and joined by 6,000 layered internal welds, Bamba! was shaped by years at the anvil. Forgotten arts and forgotten tools, muscle and guile, every strike, every weld, gradually revealed the structure within.
Together, the rings reflect the individuals that form human community: distinct in character, yet bound within a shared structure. A living glossary of difference, where tension becomes cohesion and contrast becomes strength.
As a reflection of our shared humanity, Bamba! invites each visitor to consider their place as a singular individual within the wider matrix of community. This proposition echoes the work of Ubuntu Army, a global grassroots movement founded by the artist in Durban, South Africa, which prioritizes shared humanity and values over perceived difference, and advocates for direct human connection across social, economic, and political divides.
The greatest act of revolution a human can take in their lifetime is to connect with those on the other side of their fear.
As with the work of Ubuntu Army, Bamba! proposes that community is not built through uniformity, but through proximity, dialogue, and shared presence. Forged separately, its rings are bound through connection, welded together to create not only a singular structure, but the conditions for community itself.
Lined with Nguni cowhide, an interface between earth and spirit, Bamba! invites the visitor to enter, to sit within its sphere, and to engage both common humanity and difference.
