From Mozambique, with art and emotion

From Mozambique, with art and emotion

"Sinergia de Emoções", opening this Saturday at Espelho d"Água in Lisbon, showcases the work of two young Mozambican visual artists. But Taíla Carrilho and Nália Agostinho also reflect on the situation of women in their country.

"That jacket is maningue nice," says Nália Agostinho on arriving, referring to the journalist’s outfit. The journalist promptly thanks her because, in the Mozambican language of Maputo, there could hardly be a better compliment. Alongside Taíla Carrilho, Nália makes up the artistic duo opening the exhibition "Sinergia de Emoções" this Saturday at Espelho d"Água in Lisbon. Both come from Mozambique, and the comment about a particularly colourful jacket stems not merely from the courtesy of someone arriving at a place where they are expected, but also from the keen attention to colours and shapes, especially those of the feminine world, that characterises both their work and their outlook.

"Sinergia de Emoções" marks Taíla and Nália’s first joint project, and also their first exhibition in Portugal. It focuses on "issues of gender, discrimination and the social exclusion of women in Mozambique in particular, and across the African continent as a whole, where some progress has been made" but, as they both say, standards remain "very far from acceptable".

Taíla explains that this partnership began recently, when they met "at times of great loss in our lives, which made us question subjects such as death, acceptance and grief, and brought us together very deeply." This exhibition therefore marks, she says, "a certain rediscovery of ourselves, while we reflect on the role of women in Mozambique." A role that is still not what it should be. "Even in our generation, although there is now some space for women in culture (not least because there are many foreigners in Mozambique and that changes perspectives considerably), things are far from what they should be. We feel that we are here representing our place as Mozambican artists."

Nália shares this perspective. "We were going through similar emotional experiences involving pain, grief and growth, and a deep, natural connection developed between us. This exhibition represents accepting every feeling and moving forward, as though we were always being reborn stronger. At the same time, as we work, we discover that many women are in the same situations. Through this exhibition, we give a voice to many Mozambican women who are still not heard, even those of our generation. I believe our work is more than beautiful or colourful pieces. It is our soul that is here."

Both grew up in environments that had always been connected to the arts, and recognise the advantage this gave them. Taíla (daughter of the architect Júlio Carrilho, who died last December, and sister of the illustrator André Carrilho) says she began to enjoy the things her father showed her, classical music, drawing and painting. But when the time came to make decisions, she admits that she did not want to study "architecture because I did not want to be my father’s student in my very first year", so she went to South Africa (Cape Town) to study graphic design. Afterwards, she established a furniture brand with a Portuguese friend, Room Gallery, using only local labour and raw materials. In 2020 she launched a range of accessories, mainly for women, although, she adds, "we are already beginning to have male customers."

Nália acknowledges that her childhood in Maputo, in the neighbourhoods of Polana and Chamanculo, also developed her appreciation of textures, patterns and smells. She owes her love of visual arts and music to her father, a doctor who was deeply interested in children’s creativity (she attended and completed her studies at the National School of Music): "My father used to tell me a lot about my grandfather, who was a percussionist and dancer in Zambézia province. Then, when I was very young, I was always cutting up paper or painting, and my father kept everything. I can say that he was the decisive person in making me who I am today, even though he died early, when I was only 15." She concludes, emotionally: "He was the one who planted all the seeds that are now blossoming, almost 20 years later."

Equally decisive for Nália was her time in Italy as a political science student (in Trento) and later working in business. "Coming into contact with so much art in Europe, and especially in Italy, made me see the possibility of growing up surrounded by the very best in this field. And I became less afraid, took the plunge and moved from sketches and drawings done as a hobby to working professionally." Today, she has a small gallery in Maputo and feels privileged to witness the way the arts scene is expanding in the country, both in the number of artists and in interested visitors.
In this "Sinergia de Emoções", Nália and Taíla present 20 works (paintings, drawings and illustrations in acrylic, oil pastel, charcoal, Indian ink and watercolour), complemented by poetry and prose. The exhibition can be visited until 20 March.