Pocket Universes: The Policy of (Im)Possibilities: Group Show
Curated by Jamil “Parasol” Osmar, the exhibition features around 23 mostly unpublished works, through which a reflection on the notion of human interaction is proposed, particularly focusing on the moments of connection and collision that arise from these encounters, intrinsic to the human experience.
With works by Pedro Pires, Rómulo Santa Rita, Mumpasi Meso, Luís Damião, Benigno N’sito, Mariana Dias Coutinho, Stephané E. Conradie, Uolófe, Sapate, and Osvaldo Ferreira, the exhibition marks the opening of Angola's gallery's annual program.
The moments of connection established between ourselves and others, no matter how brief and seemingly redundant the shared time might be, have proven to be profoundly enriching and imperative in the historical period we live in.
As a consequence of a sudden state of acceleration, we witness the concomitant decline of human experience in contemporary times, shaped by a tendency to subtract from the senses due to the development of digital communication processes. We have thus become accustomed to devaluing the time shared with those around us. Despite this realization, the need for interconnectivity has manifested itself as a universally trending imperative. Each one of us is an aggregator and producer of thoughts and stories, among millions. We are all, and each one, small pocket universes that intersect, cross, and collide constantly, driving this extraordinary exhibition that is the "human experience."
Although the universes of others may sometimes seem like strange places, they are not so different from our own. There will always be a way to relate within these hypothetical self-contained planes of existence that coexist with our own.
The same can be said about the works displayed in “Pocket Universes: The Politics of (Im)Possibilities.” Each one builds and adds to the global discourse contained therein.
The works of RÓMULO SANTA RITA, OSVALDO FERREIRA, and LUÍS DAMIÃO depict the interconnectivities in urban areas experienced by many of us. Others evoke powerful intimate moments, alone or shared, in the ethereal works of BENIGNO N’SITO, PEDRO PIRES, and UÓLOFE GRIOT, landscapes born from an internal catastrophe or a collective communion. STEPHANÉ CONRADIE’s work assembles found and collected objects reminiscent of the trinkets decorating working and middle-class homes throughout South Africa, as well as other post-colonial societies. MARIANA DIAS COUTINHO portrays the body as a manifestation of the issues of public and private space, their different rules and interactions, questioning the reflection of conventions and how individuality is projected. Finally, the works of SAPATE and MUMPASI MESO explore human nature, emotions, experiences, and feelings, with a focus on human relationships.
It is an exhibition committed to elucidating patterns and disruptive reflections that not only determine the present of the experiential existence but also obscure a future that through it is probed.
