INVESTEC CAPE TOWN ART FAIR 2026: Constellations of Listening

19 - 22 Fevereiro 2026

Constellations of Listening
Inspired by the concept of listening, this curatorial project unfolds as a constellation of voices that explore how contemporary art can expand the very notion of listening beyond sound. Listening, here, is not passive: it is an active, embodied, and ethical gesture — a practice of attention that renders audible what is often disregarded, giving form to silences, resonances, and hidden memories.

The selection of artists — Ana Malta (Portugal, 1996), Barbara Wildenboer (South Africa, 1973), Cássio Markowski (Brazil, 1972), Ibrahim Bemba Kébé (Mali, 1996), Osvaldo Ferreira (Angola, 1980) and Sanjo Lawal (Nigeria, 1997) — establishes a transcontinental dialogue where tradition, identity, and experimentation converge. Each, from their symbolic and cultural territory, presents works that, more than being seen, demand to be listened to with attentiveness and presence. Ana Malta explores chromatic compositions that reverberate as visual rhythms, capturing the flows and cadences of the everyday. Barbara Wildenboer develops a practice that, combining analogue and digital processes, reflects on temporality, interconnectedness, and the ways in which humanity is shaped by globalisation, crises, and the vulnerabilities of the present. Cássio Markowski invokes memory and ancestry, creating fragmented bodies that echo buried collective narratives. Ibrahim Bemba Kébé draws on the cultural wisdom of the Korèdugaw, transfiguring it into plastic gestures resonating between tradition and contemporaneity. Osvaldo Ferreira addresses the continuities and fractures of Angolan life, where fabric, colour, and texture become reverberations of cultural heritage. Finally, Sanjo Lawal creates vibrant photographic images that interrogate the intergenerational transmission of tradition, composing an imagistic territory that pulses between spirituality and the immediacy of the present.

This project is not confined to the presentation of works. It configures a space of expanded listening, where seeing and hearing intertwine. It resists the immediacy of answers, proposing instead pauses, intervals, and echoes that open up space for reflection. In so doing, it creates the conditions for an active engagement with art and with narratives that only emerge when one truly, deeply, chooses to listen.
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Ana Malta

ANA MALTA is a visual artist who lives and works in Lisbon. With an academic background in painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon and a master's degree in Creative Industries Management from UCP-Porto, Malta develops work in which color, patterns, and composition become the foundation of her visual expression. Her artistic practice is driven by aesthetic restlessness and the transformative potential of "error" as a creative tool.

Malta's work goes beyond the exploration of form and color; it becomes a space for investigating expression, the body, memory, and the relationship between the tangible and the unconscious. Her aesthetic pursuit is marked by contrasts, the study of compositional possibilities, and the interaction between error and intentionality. Ana Malta creates not just images but visual experiences that engage with the viewer's perception and emotion.
- Ana Malta, Terra com céu e sem chão, 2026
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- Ana Malta
  Vergonha Alheia de Manhã à Ceia, 2026
  Acrylic and soft pastel on paper
  75 x 105 cm
  
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Barbara Wildenboer

BARBARA WILDENBOER investigates aesthetics as a philosophical and environmental concern, exploring how meaning, memory, and perception emerge through relationships between humans and the more-than-human world. Working across analogue and digital processes, she creates collages, paper and photographic constructions, installations, digitally animated works, and book art that draw connections between the microscopic and the immense, the material and the conceptual. Central to her work are ideas of temporality, fractal geometry, interconnectedness, and the mathematical sublime, through which she reflects on the limits of human reason in the face of infinity.
- Barbara Wildenboer
  Black's Medical Dictionary, 2026
  Altered book
  50 × 60 cm (framed)
  
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CÁSSIO MARKOWSKI is a visual artist whose work deeply explores cultural identity, memory, and forgotten traditions. His work weaves together elements of beauty and delicacy with reflections on socio-political tensions, creating multi-layered images that evoke nature, historical realities, and inner visions. Through drawing and painting, Markowski constructs a narrative figuration grounded in autobiographical, historical, and fictional perspectives. In his Santa Cabeça series, he emphasizes a transcendent wisdom passed down from ancestors, blending human and natural elements into "Plant Body" entities, using symbolic plants from Afro-Brazilian traditions. The shell, a recurring motif, symbolizes both fertility and the painful history of the transatlantic slave trade. By engaging with nature’s power and the forgotten collective memory, Markowski invites a renewed reflection on humanity’s relationship with the living world, highlighting its spiritual and universal significance.
Osvaldo Ferreira

OSVALDO FERRIRA explores themes related to the everyday life of Angolan society, highlighting both the continuities and ruptures in social experiences across generations. His work, primarily composed of paintings, frequently incorporates chromatic and material elements that reference the African textile tradition, known for its vibrant colors. Through this approach, Ferreira seeks to emphasize the enduring presence of Africa’s cultural and social heritage—a continent that, through colonization and globalization, has undergone successive processes of appropriation and cultural manipulation. These historical impositions have led to involuntary miscegenation and the enforcement of systemic structures that have contributed to the erosion of Africa’s identity.
Ibrahim Bemba Kébé

IBRAHIM BEMBA KÉBÉ is a rising visual artist whose work delves into the complexities of identity and tradition in African society. A graduate of the Balla Fasséké Kouyaté Conservatory of Multimedia Arts and Crafts, he draws inspiration from his early exposure to carpentry and welding, combined with a deep appreciation for the cultural legacy of the Korèdugaw. Kébé’s work is rooted in the practice of recycling materials, echoing environmental concerns while reinterpreting Mali’s artistic heritage. As a founding member of the Sanou’Arts collective, he actively engages with young Malian artists to tackle the challenges of modern creation. His paintings and sculptures explore African cosmogonies, particularly the recurring theme of identity, portraying Afro-men and women in magnified beauty. Through his innovative use of materials and cultural references, Kébé seeks to bridge Mali's traditions with contemporary global art.
Sanjo Lawal

SANJO LAWAL is a photographer and multidisciplinary artist whose work is deeply influenced by his environment in Nigeria, a country with vast ethnic diversity. Lawal uses a combination of photography and both new and recycled materials to create a raw realism that reflects his innovative craft, spirituality, and structure. His photographic approach is characterized by vibrant colors, contrasting creative lighting, and a strong emphasis on composition, forming a distinctive visual language. His unique artistic style and bold use of color stem from his mother’s keen sensibility for hues, reflected in the fabrics she wore and the flowers she cultivated in her garden. This influence is evident in his incorporation of both new and repurposed materials, which, when combined with photography, reinforce his raw realism, drawing attention to his innovative technique, spiritual depth, and structural composition.
- Sanjo Lawal
  Wedding ceremony, 2025
  Glycée print, fine art paper, 310g
  70 x 90 cm
  
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- Sanjo Lawal
  Follow Who Know Road, 2022
  Glycée print, fine art paper, 310g
  70 x 90 cm
  
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INVESTEC CAPE TOWN ART FAIR 2026: Constellations of Listening

Constellations of Listening

Ana Malta

Barbara Wildenboer

Osvaldo Ferreira

Ibrahim Bemba Kébé

Sanjo Lawal

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