Ângela Ferreira
Casa de Colonos Abandonada (A Derelict Settlers’ Home), 2007, by Ângela Ferreira
A derelict house in the island of Benguerra, archipelago of Bazaruto. An idyllic island situated a few kilometers from the south coast of Mozambique. A house that was never finished; that mysteriously appears to have been abandoned at the moment that its concrete structure was complete. There was no time for finishings, there are no signs of the existence of window frames, much the less glasses nor even doors. The walls were never coated with plaster, as there are no signs of cement and no existence of a sandpaper texture. They are covered with scribble made with coal and other rural graffiti. It is like an empty carcass, a symbolic structure that appears to belong to a city suburb, but it is located in an almost deserted island. It has all the characteristics of domestic architecture: the quantity of rooms, the ceiling and the roof and even the terrace. The shapes are in a good condition, so that one can recognize the style and the formal language. It is another classical bizarre of modern architecture in Africa, which probably dates from the sixties or the seventies. A structure of simple lines, with large panoramic windows built in order to allow the continuation of the outside into the inside and vice-versa. The house also displays some adaptations to Africa, such as the enlarged terrace and also some kind of surreal or tropical sculpture details on the building’s façade. The only signs of destruction are the ones that the storm-wind and the cyclones have left. A derelict settlers’ home?
ÂNGELA FERREIRA was born in Maputo (Mozambique), in 1958. She lives and works in Lisbon (Portugal) and in Cape City (South Africa) since 1992. Her work deals with history as a construction, reflecting on political issues, the use of theory (particularly art theory) and its relationship with contemporary art practice. She exhibits regularly since 1990. Her solo exhibitions include: Ângela Ferreira, Modern Art Center – Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon (1990); Sites and Services, South African National Gallery, Cape City (1992);
Double Sided I and II, Chinati Foundation, Marfa, and Ibis Art Centre, Nieu Bethesda (1996); Casa Maputo: Um Retrato Íntimo (Maputo House: An Intimate Portrait), Serralves Museum, Porto (1999); Em Sítio Algum (In Some Site), National Museum of Contemporary Art – Chiado Museum, Lisbon (2003);
Maison Tropicale, Portuguese Representation in the Venice Biennale , Venice (2007);
Hard Rain Show, Berardo Collection Museum, Lisbon (2008).