BIO
Mestre
Paulo Kapela takes an exceptional position with his life and
work within the artworld of Luanda, Angola 's booming capital.
The artist is a fugitive in his own country, a Mukongo from
Uige and came to Luanda in 1996.
Today Paulo Kapela is a kind of artistic and spiritual master
for the younger artist generation, even if he barely speaks
Portuguese, but French. He became a role model with his unorthodox
way of living and his personal universe, but also with his unique
way of art-production through a combination of disparate objects
and the creation of new contexts.
In the last years he has emerged in the context of the Trienal
de Luanda, and his artwork has also been shown in the exhibitions
Check List - Luanda Pop at Venice Biennial 2007 and Luanda Smooth
and Rave in Bordeaux 2009. In 2003 he was awarded with the Art
Prize of CICIBA - Centro Internacional de Civilizações
Bantú in Brazzaville (Republic of Kongo). In spite of
this international recognition, his work can only be understood
in his local context, that is to say in his artist studio in
the city centre of Luanda.
In
this metropolis, we find most of the art-spaces right in the
city centre. One example is the rotten building of the National
Artist Union (UNAP). It is one of the major places for art-production
in Luanda, with two galleries in the first floor and a number
of studios in the second, providing space for some of the local
artists. The studios of UNAP are not only working place for
the artists but also offer a shelter, favoured by the artists
friends to take a break with a beer or joint at lunchtime and
hide away from the crowded and heated streets of Luanda, where
the traffic is advancing in millimetre steps.
In
one concealed part of the UNAP building one can find a space
different from all the others, which bears comparison with Foucaults
heterotopies in its peculiarity, hidden within the noisy and
crowded city centre. It is the atelier of Mestre Paulo Kapela,
which you can only enter if you know how to call him at the
almost invisible entrance. If you enter his studio, it feels
like entering another world, almost like a church. Through the
decayed roof one can see parts of the sky, accentuating this
unique atmosphere. Suddenly one finds himself in a labyrinth
consisting out of the countless objects of different origin,
like empty cans, toys and plastic flowers. Kapelas space
is filled with surreal arrangements of found things, using every
imaginable kind of item to create depictions of his inner universe,
combining Bantu philosophy, Catholicism, Rastafarianism and
socialist iconographies with a strong sense of a local praise
culture. Profane items like advertisements are placed next to
religious objects like crucifixes and candles. In between the
artworks there are also a lot of paintings in different sizes,
fabricated in the style of the Brazzaville Poto-Poto school,
where Kapela was working before he came to Luanda. But what
really draws attention are the innumerous collages, depicting
personalities of his every day life but also politicians and
people from the international media. There are works showing
Angolas current president Eduardo Dos Santos next to one
of the first president Agostinho Neto and even one of the late
leader of UNITA, Jonas Savimbi. Many collages also depict the
artist himself with the same characteristics. In many of these
collages, Kapela placed a small mirror on the forehead of the
depicted person. This might be a reference to the traditional
Nkissi sculptures, also known as Kongo fetishes,
bearing a mirror in their belly, which is said to activate the
magical power. In Luanda, one can find those figures in many
artist studios, but an adoption into a contemporary artistic
position is rare. In Kapelas recent works there is also
a nimbus-like crown of feathers around the head of many portraits.
Another common issue of all his works are the writings which
frame the collages, mentioning his artist colleagues as well
as other elements of Kapelas personal universe. His own
name appears here in different forms, like Paulo Kapela, Mestre
Kapela but also as Papa Paulo II Kapela Baafrica Prophete no
Congo, merging the figure of John Paul II with the artist himself.
Kapela
regards his work as important issue in the context of the reconciliation
between European and African cultures as well as for the re-membering
of a fractured and amputated society after the years of war.
He trying to find a equilibrium between disparate elements,
le balance entre le peixe e le maniok, as he mentioned while
talking about his philosophy. Thus, his whole artist space can
be regarded as an installation, which is able to combine the
past and present of his personal life as well as of the country
Angola. He is able to recreate this history through his very
unique perspective, combining real and surreal narratives and
thus recounts Luandas nightmares and utopias in his artworks.
source:
'BUALA', Nadine Siegert