Kapwani Kiwanga's The Length of the Horizon at Copenhagen Contemporary is a masterful exploration of social mechanisms and power dynamics through large-scale art installations. Running from January 26 - August 25, 2024, this exhibition marks Kiwanga's first major show in Scandinavia and showcases her ability to weave complex narratives beneath the surface of seductively beautiful works. Using plants, foliage, sand, colour and light, Kiwanga delves into toxic stories of power imbalances, the manipulative effects of colour and the political instrumentality of light. Just below their visually captivating surfaces, her installations invite viewers to confront critical themes that resonate deeply with historical and contemporary socio-political issues.

Kiwanga's studies of anthropology and comparative religion profoundly inform her work. Her installations, crafted from plants, foliage, sand, colour and light, invite viewers to look beyond their aesthetic appeal and consider underlying socio-political narratives. This intersection of art and design becomes a vessel for exploring how objects, detached from their original functions, convey complex histories and power structures when placed within a new context.

The first work visitors encounter in the exhibition is Sisal Curve, a colossal sculptural installation covered with sisal, a material introduced to Tanzania by the German East Africa Company. While the sculpture captivates, it also tells a darker story of colonial exploitation. Sisal was brought to Tanzania in 1893 by Dr Richard Hindorf, a German agronomist who transported 1,000 plants from Mexico. Today, Tanzania is the second-largest producer of this crop, behind Brazil. Kiwanga's emphasis on the politics of materials is powerfully evident in this piece, encouraging reflection on the colonial past and its enduring impacts.

Behind Sisal Curve is Terrarium, developed for the 2022 Venice Biennale. This installation features four semi-transparent paintings on fabric (Sunset Horizon) and three hourglass-like sculptures (Hour Glass). The colour gradients of the textiles in Sunset Horizon evoke desert sunsets, while the sand in Hour Glass is quartz sand used in the fracking industry. These elements highlight Kiwanga's interest in geology, ecology and economics. The glass sculptures reference the hourglass's historical symbolism of life's transience. Terrarium addresses natural resource usage, raw material management and the Capitalocene—a term specifying the Anthropocene—casting the sunset in an ambivalent light.

The Anthropocene is a proposed geological epoch that marks the significant impact of human activity on Earth's geology and ecosystems. The Capitalocene, on the other hand, focuses on the role of capitalism in driving ecological changes, suggesting that the environmental crisis is specifically tied to capitalist modes of production and consumption. Kiwanga's work casts the sunset in an ambivalent light, reflecting on the complex interplay between natural beauty and the exploitation of resources.

Kiwanga’s work explores how public institutions such as prisons, schools and hospitals use colour to affect behaviour. This is vividly illustrated in her installation pink-blue, which features a 16-metre-long corridor painted in Baker-Miller Pink and bathed in blue fluorescent light. Faber Birren and Alexander G. Schauss developed theories of colour psychology, which are applied in public institutions and industrial settings to regulate behaviour and boost productivity. Baker-Miller Pink, purported to reduce stress and calm prison inmates, contrasts sharply with the disorienting blue light used in public restrooms to deter drug use. This duality underscores the manipulative effects of design and the subtle ways authorities seek to control behaviour.

In her installations, Kiwanga draws attention to the mechanisms of control embedded in design, colour and light. This is particularly evident in her exploration of colonial histories since the classification and control of people were fundamental to the colonial enterprise.

Kiwanga's Glow sculptures, which resemble marble floor lamps at first glance, stand as human-sized dark silhouettes throughout the space. Made from various types of marble, such as Cora Black, Nero Marquina and Sahara Noir, these geometrically abstract monoliths feature integrated LED lights illuminating the surrounding area. The series references colonial-era racial surveillance strategies, including the 18th-century “lantern laws” in North America, which required non-white individuals over 14 to carry lanterns or candles at night unless accompanied by a white person. “White surveillance” refers to historical practices, often institutionalised through laws like the lantern laws in colonial North America, where non-white individuals were required to carry lanterns or candles at night to be distinguishable from white individuals, thereby subjecting them to heightened scrutiny and control. These sculptures memorialise the threat of “white surveillance,” as the press release designates while symbolising resistance against the political instrumentalisation of light.

Kiwanga's art offers more than just visual and sensual pleasure; it engages viewers with historical and socio-political references. Her use of ephemeral materials and temporary installations, as seen in Flowers for Africa and Counter-Illumination, reflects the transient nature of memory and invites viewers to reconsider historical narratives and their contemporary implications. These installations are powerful reminders of the ongoing legacies of colonialism and the ever-present dynamics of power and resistance.

Marie Laurberg, curator of the show and Director of Copenhagen Contemporary, told STIR, "Kiwanga’s work traces how histories of the pan-African diaspora surface in contemporary material culture. Her works are highly aesthetic with an elegant sensitivity towards materials and their multiple potentials in a sculptural context. Her works balance the fine line between the discursive and the immersive. In Flowers for Africa, the transient nature of the work—the flowers and plants decay throughout the exhibition—undercuts the idea of the monument as an eternal truth about historic events."

Kiwanga’s work traces how histories of the pan-African diaspora surface in contemporary material culture. – Marie Laurberg

In a Scandinavian context, we are familiar with the notion of a ‘safe space’ that seeps into everyday language in the meaning of a space free of conflict or distressing opinions. But the root of the concept is a situation where people of colour have rightfully feared for their lives when occupying public space. – Marie Laurberg

The Length of the Horizon at Copenhagen Contemporary is a profound exploration of how art and design can intersect to unveil hidden power dynamics. Kapwani Kiwanga's extraordinary installations challenge viewers to look beyond the surface and engage with deeper historical and sociopolitical contexts. Her work is a powerful commentary on the mechanisms of control and resistance that continue to shape our world. The exhibition is a visual feast and a thought-provoking journey into the complexities of power, history and human behaviour. As Laurberg notes, “In a Scandinavian context, we are familiar with the notion of a ‘safe space’ which seeps into everyday language in the meaning of a space free of conflict or distressing opinions. But the root of the concept is a situation where people of colour have rightfully feared for their lives when occupying public space.” She adds, “[Kiwanga’s works] show how deeply ingrained the cultural logic of racism is and sets the context for understanding contemporary movements of freedom, for instance, Black Lives Matter.”