Residency & art work in public space, 2008
by invitation of the Fonds BKVB
Cementblocks, plaster, explosives, marble
and iron oxide/wax.
4x7x3,5 meter
Lusaka, Zambia

ZIG/ZAG PROXY is an architectural sculpture by
Kaleb de Groot in the rural area southeast of
Lusaka, Zambia.
The sculpture is a meeting point of interests,
which the artist has been working on for some
time now: one being the use of explosives in
combination with building materials in a
constructive way, the other being the psycho-
logical influence of architectural structures
on it’s environment and it’s users.

The use of explosive expansion originated in the
project Stadt I/II (Berlin, 2003) which was
realized together with designer Roosje Klap.
When the couple was working in Xiamen
(China) in 2008, they continued to work
with gunpowder in relation to modern day
architecture, resulting in a public intervention
in the city center consisting of a large scale
installation with inflatable sculptures.

This time De Groot had taken the problem of
land-mines and explosive reminiscence as part
of the project to realize a pavillion for
contemporary art in Zambia. He had traveled
to the border areas with Mozambique and
Zimbabwe to investigate the problem.
The actual experience of going past
places with possible danger led him to make his
pavillion an inhospitable shelter. The thought of
creating a ‘guilty’ landscape is being used by De
Groot to undergo a direct physical experience of
architecture.
On top of a summit outside of Lusaka,
Zig/Zag Proxy has been constructed and
deconstructed with the help of explosives.

During the presentation Kaleb de Groot handed
over the pavillion to a selected group of artists.
The pavilion will be a starting point for future
exhibitions, workshops and possible alterations
initiated by local artists. A by De Groot conducted
three-day workshop at Zig/Zag Proxy dealing
with psycho-geographical maps was named
an 'Insaka' the Zambian word for 'gathering'.

The final presentation was held at the Henry Tayali
Center on The Showgrounds, the Lusaka-based
exhibition space run by the Visual Arts Council
(VAC) of Zambia.

This exhibition was, in part, made
possible by the Netherlands Fund for Visual Arts,
Design and Architecture (BKVB).