At

Kapwani

Kiwanga’s

Pavilion

in

Venice,

Tiny

Glass

Beads

Carry

the

Weight

of

History

Kapwani Kiwanga’s “Trinket” at the Canada Pavilion at the Venice Biennale uses raw materials to make a subtle yet powerful statement on global commerce and historical trade. Through the installation of seven million glass beads, Kiwanga explores how objects of seemingly little value have shaped economies, power structures, and cultural histories. The beads are woven into an immersive architectural network that shifts in colour, while raw materials like copper, wood, and palm oil—items once traded for beads—are used to reflect on the intertwined legacies of colonialism and trade. In this way, Kiwanga’s work examines how materials, both precious and mundane, carry the weight of history.