Mussiro & Other Masks
Manuela Madeira
‘Mussiro & Other Masks’ peels back the many layers of female lived experience to arrive at the universal truth of feminine essence. Much of Manuela’s work is rooted in Moçambique’s colonial and post-colonial experiences. In particular, Moçambican women have had to hold entire communities together in the face of Portuguese colonial capitalism which demanded the total erasure of African heritages and a total assimilation , a civil war that meant the absence of all males - even young boys - and then the ongoing pull of men to south African mining.
Mussiro is a type of white mask traditionally worn by women from the Macua group to signify social position. Apart from Mussiro being a part of Manuela’s traditional upbringing, she is fascinated by the idea of the many masks women so expertly have to wear to navigate life, whether it is in Nampula, Maputo, in other African cities and in metropolises all over the world. Manuela currently lives between Brussels and Dublin. She is interested in sexual agency across gender, the inherent power of women and in in particular how class, power hierarchies and the general patriarchy play out for women as a universal phenomenon and the gaze of Manuela’s subjects speak directly to this.
Manuela’s figurative oil paintings are informed by her interdisciplinary background as a social anthropologist and visual artist. She delves into the lives of her subjects with the tools of community activism, teasing out the critical aspects of her subjects and then rendering their stories on to her canvases. She first outlines in charcoal. She then layers coats of glossy oil paint on top - literally filling in backstories and lives lived, all the while providing depth and patina - resulting in portraits that go way back in time to pull the present into focus and illuminate the future.
Perfectly framing 'Mussiro & Other Masks' is Sandy Teepen's textile art. Sandy is one of Atlanta's life forces, she sees texture, color and story everywhere in this City. She is a connector - bringing synergies to life - that only she can. Her collages tell of the people that populate her life in the form of the fabrics they bring her.
The aKAZ! team loves to shop for Sandy at the Continent's many markets dedicated to the art of sartorial curation. It is a joy to watch Sandy transform these in her Midtown Atlanta studio, full of fabric swatches, art and design books, torn magazine pages and photos tacked on the walls. Her creations are wrought through an alchemy all her own into a final product that perfectly aligns with aKAZI's interest in showcasing hybridity of cultures, influences and traditions.
