Earth and Sky

From 5 September to 24 October 2026, Les filles du calvaire gallery presents Earth and Sky, an exhibition by Sungi Mlengeya. The Tanzanian artist has built an international reputation through a visual language that is both pared-back and deeply evocative: dark-skinned female figures rendered with a quiet clarity, emerging from vast fields of negative space.

Working and living in Arusha, Tanzania, Sungi has developed a distinctive approach in which these figures inhabit expansive, open compositions that evoke both a psychological space and a sense of emotional calm. Over time, this visual language has enabled the artist to explore themes of identity, presence and the preservation of some of her subjects. In her new body of work, however, Sungi turns towards a more personal reflection, which expands into a broader meditation on continuity, ancestry and the ways in which human lives endure beyond the physical body.

The works in Earth and Sky were conceived in the aftermath of the artist’s mother’s death. Confronted with this loss, Sungi found herself reflecting not on the finality of death, but on the many ways in which a life continues. What remains of a person once they are gone? Where does their presence reside? For the artist, the answer lies not in memory alone, but in influence: the gestures passed down from one generation to the next, the ways of doing and thinking that quietly shape those who follow.

In many ways, this understanding echoes the thinking of Kenyan philosopher John Mbiti, who observed that “the living, the dead and the unborn are linked in a continuous chain of existence.” Within this continuum, a person’s life extends beyond themselves through the lives of others, carried forward through actions, ideas and acts of care that continue to shape the world long after the body has disappeared.

Sungi’s mother was herself a maker. Gifted at drawing in her youth and continually engaged in building and making throughout her life, she worked with her hands in many forms—from constructing wooden structures and tending gardens to sewing clothes and encouraging creativity within her home. In this environment, the act of creating was not a specialised artistic practice, but a natural extension of everyday life. Creativity existed as a way of being in the world.

The title of the exhibition, Earth and Sky, evokes this dual movement between origin and expansion. “Earth” represents grounding, the invisible roots from which life draws its nourishment. Just as the roots of a tree remain hidden beneath the soil while sustaining its growth, those who came before us often act invisibly within our lives, nurturing possibilities that eventually emerge.

“Sky”, by contrast, represents openness and limitless expansion. It is the space through which influence spreads, carried by gestures, ideas and acts of creation.

Source: Les Filles du Calvaire website