Expanding Figuration: Bodies that Reconfigure the World: SPOTLIGHT 1

Mambo’o D27 is a visual artist whose work examines the intersections between identity, memory and displacement. Trained in Visual Communication at the School of Fine Arts in Kinshasa, he has built a path marked by pictorial experimentation and the use of contemporary graphic elements — visual codes, collage and geometric structures — that link African tradition with modernity.

Since 2018, he has lived in France, taking part in several residency programmes, including those focused on creation in contexts of exile. His work blends figurative language, narrative abstraction and themes tied to migratory experience.

Through painting, drawing and installation, Mambo’o creates a symbolic visual universe that questions belonging, borders and the construction of identity. His practice stems from the need to understand what it means to move physically, culturally and emotionally. His compositions evoke inner maps — interrupted paths, enduring memories and overlapping identities — exploring the tension between what is visible and concealed, spoken and silent. Using vibrant colours, contrasting textures and symbolic elements, he seeks to capture the moment in which change generates new ways of existing.

Opeyemi Matthew Olukotun is a visual artist whose practice centres on expressive figurative painting. He graduated in Fine and Applied Arts from the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology in 2012 and later worked as an art teacher before fully dedicating himself to his artistic career in 2016.

His work is driven by a continuous exploration of the human body — its form, posture and emotional language. Particularly drawn to the anatomy of expression, Olukotun focuses on subtle gestures: the tilt of a head, the weight of a gaze, the nuances of the face and hands. Through these details, he conveys complex states of mind and the depth of human experience.

Harmonious palettes, impressionistic brushstrokes and sketch-like lines give his compositions a sense of movement and evolving identity. These visual strategies create a fluid relationship between figure and environment, portraying individuals as reflective beings with rich interior worlds.

Olukotun’s practice seeks to honour the inner life of his subjects, offering not just representations of the human form but invitations to contemplate vulnerability, resilience and the emotional landscapes carried within each person.

Osvaldo Ferreira explores themes rooted in the everyday life of Angolan society, revealing continuities and ruptures across generations. Primarily a painter, he incorporates chromatic and material elements inspired by African textile traditions, using exuberant colour to highlight the continent’s cultural and social heritage. His work reflects on histories of colonisation, globalisation and cultural manipulation, exposing processes that have shaped and destabilised African identities.

In 2019, he became one of the first artists to complete a higher education in Visual Arts within Angola (ISARTES). His paintings are held in collections across Angola, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Italy, Israel, the United States, Spain, France, Romania and India, including the Carla & Pieter Schulting Collection and The Rockefeller Foundation Collection. He received the ENSA Art 2020 Painting Grand Prize and later presented the solo exhibition “Extravagant Dissidence: Building a Local Praxis” at Galeria Banco Económico. In 2021, he joined the inaugural residency of the NESR Art Foundation.