Kemang Wa Lehulere's Bring Back Lost Love at Blank Projects Evokes South African Black Intellectual Tradition

At Blank Projects in Cape Town, Kemang Wa Lehulere presents the exhibition Bring Back Lost Love, which delves into the intellectual heritage of South Africa's Black community through various installations and artworks. Among the highlighted works is Reddening of the Greens 2 (ii) (2021), which utilizes found objects to comment on migrant laborers, alongside ceramic black German Shepherds that represent police brutality during apartheid. Notes 1–13 (2017–21) features drawings in chalk and white paint on black boards, evoking rural educational settings. Wa Lehulere acknowledges influential figures such as Solomon Plaatje, R.R.R. Dhlomo, and Robert Grendon. His Letter to the Nobel Committee (2016) supports Plaatje's nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize. The exhibition is open until 6 April, addressing historical omissions in South African archives.