Coumba Samba: Wild Wild Wall

Kunsthalle Basel presents a commission by Coumba Samba, an artist whose practice probes the aesthetics and politics of institutional power and the residues of colonial and state violence. The exhibition, “Wild Wild Wall”, is a large-scale sculptural installation consisting of 176 square steel posts spanning the back wall of the gallery. Each post is separated by four inches (10.16 cm), a spacing adopted by the Trump administration for the Mexico–U.S. border wall. While appearing as a minimalist composition of black and grey stripes, the work translates the desaturated tones of the U.S. Border Patrol Badge of Honour.

The exhibition positions border fortifications and immigration policies within a historical framework. It references how U.S. asylum policy has historically been determined by geopolitical affiliation, often distinguishing between those fleeing communism and others, such as Haitian refugees, described as a national problem. Samba approaches borders as instruments of classification that stratify populations and reinforce racialised systems of exclusion. The installation explores how national signifiers and seemingly neutral colours are imbued with histories of violence.