1-54 London

We're delighted to be returning to Somerset House this year, with two presentations: a solo Special Project exhibition of Lakwena Maciver's new series, How We Build a Home, and a group presentation in Booth W11 (ground floor, West Wing) with works by Ibrahim El-Salahi, Salah Elmur, Lakwena Maciver and Zak Ove.

Lakwena Maciver | How We Build a Home 
Also at Wellington Arch, 15 Ocober - 14 December 2025 

Lakwena’s practice has long blended art, design, fashion, and spirituality, reaching audiences far beyond traditional galleries. Her murals and public works, from the Bowery Wall in New York to installations at Tate and Somerset House, have made her one of the most recognisable artists of her generation. Lakwena's work often engages with public spaces to interrupt or reframe those environments, bringing gently subversive messages and bold colour into areas often defined by institutional or historical weight.

In a new body of work crafted from found cardboard boxes and plastic beads, the artist transforms remnants of trade into vibrant graphic paintings- recasting the language of commerce into bold affirmations and reminders of hope, beauty and home. These materials, seemingly modest but rich in narrative, were sourced from Ridley Road Market, which is beneath Lakwena’s studio and nearby her home in East London. This iconic London street market has been home to many different communities over time and is now known for its African and Caribbean hair shops and food stalls, making it a vital hub of Black British culture and everyday life

Reflecting on these materials, Lakwena notes: “I’m interested in the small everyday, domestic exchanges and negotiations and the many unknown people along historic trade routes that have enabled me to hold in my hand a banana grown thousands of miles away that gives me a taste of another home.” Her words invite us to consider the many hands and lives- past and present- that come together in the objects we hold and the lives we build, tracing connections that stretch across time and place.