A mound of earth, in the centre of the pristine and immaculate gallery room, emerges from the floor with other tiny mounds made of goods that became central to the colonial and post- colonial era: sugar, coffee, cocoa and chocolate. In her enthralling installation Table of Goods (2017), Kilomba memorises centuries of human exploitation on the plantations and the continuous extraction of nature and land. Dozens of unlightened white candles surround the mound of soil, suggesting this to be an open wound.
Table of Goods, 2017, installation with soil, coffee beans, ground coffee, cocoa powder, pieces of chocolate, sugar, and white candles. Dimensions variable.
Selected Exhibition History:
2017 MAAT - Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, Lisbon
2018 Pinacoteca de São Paulo, São Paulo
2018 The Power Plant, Toronto
2023 HKW - Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin
2024 Kunsthalle Baden Baden, Baden-Baden
2024 Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid





Installation views: (1) Grada Kilomba, Secrets to Tell, 2017, Solo Exhibition at MAAT - Museum of Architecture, Art and Technology, Lisbon. (2),(3),(4) Grada Kilomba, the making of, 2018, Solo Exhibition at The Power Plant, Toronto; (5) Grada Kilomba, Desobediências Poéticas, 2018, Solo Exhibition at Pinacoteca de São Paulo.