From canvas to photographs, the travelling exhibition Lusophonies is a selection of artworks by artists from Portugal, Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Mozambique and India.
With as many as 150 artwork on display at the India International Centre (IIC), the exhibition offers an insight into the Portuguese culture.
The exhibition represents Lusophonie art and the way it has evolved historically. Pertaining to Lusophonie history, the exhibition is divided into three parts.
The first period called Colonialism concerns the artistic production prior to the independence of African countries from Portugal in 1974-75. The artworks included in this period reflects the predominance of a tendency to use art as ‘revolutionary discourse’ and as political and social demand for both African countries and Portugal which were under dictatorship.
The second phase of ‘Independence’ reflects the artistic creations influenced by the independence processes. Like the establishment of sovereign political regimes and the affirmation of a self and unique identity within those lusophone countries. Also, in Portugal the freedom of speech that followed several decades of repression was a symptom of the artistic development.
Future Miscegenation and Diaspora names the third and last period represents the artistic creation that has been developed in contemporary form. Thus, representing the artistic production prior to 1974-75 are artists such as Anthony Quadros, António Paulo Tomaz, Cruzeiro Seixas, Dorindo Carvalho, Eduardo Nery, Ernesto Shikhani (Mozambique), Eurico Gonçalves, Fernando Azevedo, Fernando Lemos, Feres Khoury (Brazil), Figueiredo Sobal Henrique Risques Pereira, Malangatana (Mozambique), Manuel Figueira (Cape Verde), Marcelo Grassmann (Brazil), Mário Cesariny, Pancho Guedes, Raul Perez and Salette Mulin (Brazil).
The later collection include works by Abílio Nhate (Mozambique), Agostinho Santos, Alberto Pimenta, Albino Moura, Alfredo Luz, Luisa Queirós (Cape Verde), Mário Botas, Márcia Matonse (Mozambique), Miro (Mozambique), Paulo Kapela (Angola), Pedro Wrede (Brazil), Reinata Sadimba (Mozambique) and Subodh Kerkar (India). In turn, the new Portuguese-speaking artists are Ana Silva (Angola), Cabral Nunes, Gabriel Garcia, Idasse (Mozambique), Isabella Carvalho (Brazil), João Garcia Miguel, Nuno Viegas.
All the different works, perspectives, participants, authors and media have a common connection, whether experimental or through a formal aesthetics related to African roots.The exhibition is on view at India International Centre, Lodhi Estate, till February 15, from 11 m to 7 pm.
