influxcontemporary > contemporary african art
'NOISE | RUÍDO' revolves around the notion of noise. The background hum of a city in constant change (Luanda? Lisbon?), the noise from the streets, from massive construction and traffic, but also visual noise and, more importantly, noise in communication. Communication scholars classify four types of noise: physical, psychological, physiological and semantic. Physical noise is external to the speaker and listener. It includes all sounds that make it difficult to hear what is being said. Psychological noise is defined as some kind of mental interference. If someone's mind is wandering, the noise in his head is preventing communication. Physiological noise is any physiological issue that interferes with communication like pain or discomfort and semantic noise occurs when there is no shared meaning in a communication, like when technical terminology is used that lay people may not understand.
current exhibition
'COSMOGONY´

featured exhibitionPAINTING | SCULPTURE


Shetani is a Kiswahili word which means spirit or devil. The word is a borrowing from the Arabic, Shaitan.

Shetanis are mostly malevolent, native spirits, around which runs an important oral tradition in some regions of East Africa. They are responsible for adversity in life and can be found in many different forms and types, each with it's different "powers" and attributes.

The shetanis are traditionally represented by the Makonde people of Tanzania and Mozambique. They appear as distorted figures, asymmetrical, one-legged or one-armed, with exaggerated features and appendages.

According to the Makonde cosmogony, shetanis take on many forms: abstract, animal, anthropomorphic and combinations thereof. Examples include the dangerous ukunduka, which feeds through sexual intercourse, the chameleon shetani, a carnivore with exaggerated lizard features, or the harmless "medicinal" shuluwele which gathers herbs for sorcerers.
Lilanga's shetanis though, are not that scary or evil. He tended to humanize them by placing them in scenes from the daily routine and used these whimsical, colourful creatures to express his critical views over society.

Lilanga's cosmogony includes the sharply-dressed-yuppie-shetani, the shetani-talking-on-his-brand-new-mobile-phone or the football-player-shetani, all part of a very personal universe in which tradition and modernity co-exist harmoniously.

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George Lilanga (1934-2005) was born in 1934 in the village of Kikwetu, southern Tanzania. Like most Makonde youngsters, he first learned to carve on soft kassava roots before starting carving the hard blackwood (mpingo).

Today, George Lilanga di Nyama is undisputedly one of the icons in XX century African contemporary art.

'COSMOGONY', at INFLUX CONTEMPORARY ART, is his first solo show in Portugal.



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