Kresiah Mukwazhi bought the used underwear at second-hand clothing markets back home in Zimbabwe and, together with a handful of helpers, sewed it into a work of art over several months. As part of the Schultze Projects series, the impressive result hangs in the Museum Ludwig for almost two years and gives some reason to ponder. One might think of the clothing waste we produce in the wealthy West and often send to Africa, where only a small part of it can actually be used. The rest piles up there into textile mountains of waste. In addition to environmental damage, there is the harm that the local textile industry suffers from cheap competition.

It can be presumed that many more thoughts and stories are interwoven into this giant work. Kresiah Mukwazhi's works never stand alone; they are always a statement that is meant to empower and "heal," as the artist puts it. Above all, she aims to uncover and push back the consequences of colonialism. The title of the work for Cologne fits this purpose, as Kresiah Mukwazhi consciously phrases it in her mother tongue Shona: "Shanduko nhema" means something like "black reclamation."

With grand gesture, the artist sends our clothing waste back – upcycled into a work of art. But of course, the colonial legacy is not only continued through the wearing of bras and the import of used textiles. To a much greater extent, as Kresiah Mukwazhi stated, the self-understanding of people in Africa is still shaped by colonial constructs – and those must be unlearned.