Coumba Samba's First Solo Museum Show at the Whitney Links Flag Colors to Uranium and Nuclear Power
The Whitney Museum of American Art is set to unveil "Stars and Stripes," a solo exhibition by artist Coumba Samba, from September 19, 2026, to January 18, 2027. The Senegalese American artist, based in New York, creates sculptures that reflect on the flags of several nations, including the U.S. and those from Africa, linking national identity with nuclear weaponry consequences. This debut museum show presents vibrant geometric pieces that draw from modernist approaches while addressing the socio-political implications of these symbols. Curators Rujeko Hockley and Antonia Pocock highlight themes surrounding uranium mining and historical conflicts related to nuclear armament.
Key facts
- Stars and Stripes runs at the Whitney Museum of American Art from September 19, 2026, to January 18, 2027
- The installation is Coumba Samba's first solo museum presentation
- Sculptures modeled on depleted-uranium shells are painted in the flag colors of the United States, Gabon, Namibia, Niger, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- The Whitney's exhibition text states that Shinkolobwe mine uranium in the Democratic Republic of the Congo supplied most of the material for the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945
- The work references 2003 allegations that Iraq sought uranium ore from Niger, invoked in arguments for the US invasion of Iraq
- Several African nations cited in the work were important Cold War sources of uranium ore, with many mines run by foreign companies
- The exhibition is organized by Guest Curator Rujeko Hockley with Curatorial Assistant Antonia Pocock
- The installation occupies the museum's first-floor gallery
Entities
Artists
- Coumba Samba
- Rujeko Hockley
- Antonia Pocock
Institutions
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- New York Art Life
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Senegal
- Gabon
- Namibia
- Niger
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Shinkolobwe
- Hiroshima
- Japan
- Iraq