Grada

Kilomba's

Interview

on

Excavation

of

History

in

Frieze

Magazine

Victoria Adukwei Bulley speaks with Grada Kilomba about psychoanalysis, storytelling and how new languages can unpack historical trauma

The interdisciplinary artist and writer Grada Kilomba discusses how her work excavates colonial histories and challenges dominant narratives through performance, visual art, and text. Drawing on psychoanalysis, political theory, and African oral traditions, Kilomba explores themes of memory, trauma, race, and decolonisation. The article highlights her critically acclaimed installations and performances, which centre Black female subjectivity and offer new languages of resistance and healing. A key voice in contemporary art, Kilomba’s practice resonates across global art spaces seeking to engage with postcolonial discourse and social justice.