Works of art displayed at the Angola Pavilion.

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

The Angola Pavilion Art Gallery at Expo 2020 Dubai hosted ‘Tondongo, the Feminine Universe’ group exhibition, in celebration of International Women’s Day (till March 20). It opened with a ceremony featuring a traditional Angolan dance performances, where artists engaged with visitors.

Featuring 32 artworks in different artistic styles ranging from paintings, sculptures, modelling, fabric application, photography and performances by nine different artists, Tondongo focused on ritualistic, feminine and African scarification traditions. The exhibition also marked the union of different languages that harmonised in a common feeling of strength and creativity.

Commenting on the exhibition, curator Carla Peairo said: “We are proud to host this exhibition. The pavilion brings together artists from various backgrounds. “In the process, it shows the diversity and richness of contemporary art, celebrated by women. The goal of the exhibition is to create new cultural ties, thus strengthening the exchange of experiences in the artistic sphere.” Joining the exhibition was Anastasie Akibode, a Frenchwoman with African roots that lie in Cape Verde, Benin and Senegal, who presented Wired Artistic Energies; Miriam Rodriguez, born in Portugal, with origins in Cape Verde and Angola, who showed the Rebirth collection; and Marcia Dias, Angolan and cultural ambassador for the Oscar Ribas Foundation, who presented the Resilience set.

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After moving to Dubai, Akibode turned from part-time artist to painting full time in 2008. She furthered her education at Dubai Art Centre and shortly after, in 2013, was conferred the Merit Award for Painting. Later, she attended different schools and programmes in Europe and the US. The artist has exhibited her works in several countries around the world, including the UAE. Her paintings have featured at Art Dubai. Peairo herself is a talented artist. She is renowned for work that incorporates motifs from traditional Angolan and African heritage and for integrating or reinterpreting them in a modern context. Her work is often created using recycled material such as paper, fabric, hessian, cotton thread, plastic, shells and acrylic paint.

She shared her latest work at the pavilion during the ‘Conexoes’ (Connections) exhibition, which also featured the works of 12 other artists.

Peairo presented an expressionist art piece inspired by the ‘Sona’, or Tucokwe sand drawings. The piece shows the link that the past and the present share, as new artistic techniques are incorporated into old ancestral traditions.

 Angola Pavilion displays the works of women artists.

Besides Peairo, several other prominent female Angolan artists have shared their work at the Angola Pavilion gallery. Maria Belmira Gumbe is an artist who translated the symbiosis between the traditional and the modern, with her weavings and fabric applications in an exhibition titled ‘Weaving Memories’.

It was the result of several years of research and maturity and symbolised the memories from her childhood, serving as a tribute to the most important women in her life. An example of a more contemporary style was the work by Armanda Alves. She presented ‘Dinamica do Ser’ or ‘Dynamic of Being’, which is a collection that depicted what she believed defined the human essence, with acrylic on canvas. The works showed the artist’s vision of serenity, vitality, intensity and suspended thoughts.

Fineza Sebastiao Teta-Fisty, an accomplished and celebrated Angolan artist, presented ‘Nsongo’. It showcased a series of statues in chalk, representing the various phases of pregnancy. The statues were of various different African women wearing traditional clothing, depicted during a particular moment while performing a common daily task. The exhibition showcased the role of women in taking care of their families and children.

A more futuristic example of women who presented their work at the pavilion was Daniela Ribeiro. Her work often depicts the relationship between technology and humanity in what she calls “scientific realism”. Her exhibition at the pavilion was titled ‘Como Voce e Global?’ or ‘How are you Global?’ focusing on ideas related to the field of artificial intelligence. It depicted how man has undergone a transformation from being a creation, to becoming a creator.

The Angola Pavilion has been a platform for Angolan artists, particularly female artists. With the latest ‘Tondongo’ exhibition, it added more names to the extensive list of talented Angolan female artists whose work will be yet shared at the Expo. The pavilion has been showcasing works in several exhibitions of traditional and contemporary artists since the start of the Expo. Many of them were from Angolan female artists, from various backgrounds and art styles. At the Angola Pavilion, visitors are shown how the country’s history and its technological innovations are intimately linked. The pavilion focuses on the Angolan Chowke people and their relationship with the people of Angola today, by using symbols such as a large parrot called Toje, which symbolises freedom of thought. It is also one of the symbols that the pavilion is using to reintroduce the dying art of storytelling.

Culture is thus a key part of the Angola Pavilion at this edition of the Expo. Nightly performances resound at the Expo, where musicians from all across Angola, play modern and ancient music. Regular performances of traditional and contemporary dance forms are also being presented and visitors can attend workshops to learn about ancient instruments and how they are made by hand.