Gonçalo Mabunda: 6 works

'Mabunda's works also comment on the present state of decline across postcolonial Africa, positing the relationship between dictatorial prowess--emblematized by traditional seated thrones--and economic disparity. The titles of Mabunda's works are often lyrical and elusive, and those selected for the 2015 Biennale di Venezia project an idealistic sense of progress and modernity.'

'He lives and works in Maputo. Goncalo Mabunda is a mixed-media sculptor whose work examines the collective memory of a nation recovering from decades of conflict.'

'The titles of Mabunda's works are often lyrical and elusive, and those selected for the 2015 Biennale di Venezia project an idealistic sense of progress and modernity.'

'Mabunda's works also comment on the present state of decline across postcolonial Africa, positing the relationship between dictatorial prowess--emblematized by traditional seated thrones--and economic disparity.'

'Mabunda often sources his materials from these collections, deconstructing and fusing their parts into new forms that are influenced by recognizable motifs from traditional African art. As virtuosic as their new forms may be, these works do not hide the violent histories from which they were born: viewers can easily discern the remains of ammunition belts and shell casings that comprise his masks, or the rocket launchers that serve as bases or legs to his majestic thrones.'

'Mabunda often sources his materials from these collections, deconstructing and fusing their parts into new forms that are influenced by recognizable motifs from traditional African art.'