A Fresh Breeze: Discovering Khadambi’s Garden at 575 Wandsworth Road

Watch a lecture exploring the extraordinary life and work of Kenyan poet, civil servant, and artist Khadambi Asalache, whose home at 575 Wandsworth Road stands as one of London’s most quietly remarkable interiors. 

Since moving into the property in 1981, Asalache spent decades transforming the house into an intricate work of art, carving fretwork from salvaged timber to cover almost every surface of the building. Now cared for by the National Trust, the house has attracted growing recognition as an exceptional and deeply personal creative achievement. 

Less well known is Asalache’s relationship with the garden. In this lecture, artist, poet and academic Edward Adonteng, who has been researching Asalache’s life and practice, brings new attention to his work as a gardener, and asks what the garden meant to a man for whom making and beauty were inseparable.