Untitled, Factory of disposable feelings, Luanda, Angola, 2017
Factory of disposable feelings (2019) results from a long-term interaction with the specifics of place and context – a textile factory “Irmãos Carneiro”, located on the outskirts of Luanda – and suggest multiple ways to engage with history and over time. Again, debris and discarded objects take centre stage, referring to the past and to simultaneously embody the present and the uncertainty of the future.
Ecletic Circunstances II, 2014
Ecletic Circunstances I, 2014
Momento do Museu, 2019
Deeply concerned by issues of social justice and wealth sharing, Cristiano Mangovo often addresses the contemporary world as a landscape of violence, trickery, extravagance and deceit. Momento do Museu calls for the long-due creation of a museum of contemporary arts for the Angolan capital of Luanda. While the city features a military museum, which reflects its painful and troubled history, the absence of an art museum appears as a cruel and inadmissible reality to the Angolan population and to the artistic community. While the background spectral figure of a dying soldier evokes the country’s conflicting past, the dynamic and composite inverted figure, which shows a connection with a remote sun, appears as the benefactor Angola is longing for.
Tesouro, 2017
Densely painted, the centre of the canvas offers a strong concentration of organic, linear and colourful elements, which grasp the viewer’s attention while challenging his decoding ability.
“O Tesouro” spurs a compelling and relevant reflection on the global effects of a greedy ideology based on every man for himself and on the law of the jungle. While such motto increases disparities between the tricksters and the most vulnerable by allowing massive wealth concentration, it also contributes to a detrimental spirit of competition and division.
Os determinados, 2019
Energetic lines, dynamic human shapes and expressive gestures set the pace for this rhythmic and enigmatic painting. Expressing movement, fluidity and suspension with body fragments such as hands, arms or legs and schematic background dancing-like figures, Os Determinados evokes the theme of the Angolan youth’s aspiration for a better life, migrating from the remote areas to the capital of Luanda in search to fulfil their deepest dreams and desires. The dark green of the background resonates with the traditional meaning of the green colour. Associated with the flourishing vegetation, is has been widely used as a symbol for the hope in a new life.
Resistencia 2, 2019
Social dynamics are repeatedly explored in Cristiano Mangovo’s work in ways designed to spark off curiosity and reflection among the viewers. Resistance stages the topics of hostility, prejudice and discrimination against black people in Western countries and calls for the ability to stand and to hold the heads up high knowing that, together, we can make a difference. Linear and schematic elements, floating silhouettes and fragmented figures, motifs, expressive gestures and bold colours emerge from a monochrome and flat background field creating an harmonious balance between stillness and motion, bareness and intensity.
S/ Título #2 (Waste), 2018
100 Drawings series, Not 100 Percent Sure, 2012
Airplane series #9, 2007
