Paulo Kapela, 1947

Mestre Paulo Kapela occupies an exceptional place in the artistic landscape of Luanda, Angola’s booming capital. A Mukongo from Uíge, he arrived in Luanda in 1996 and became a fugitive in his own country — yet also a spiritual and artistic guide for a younger generation of artists.

Although he speaks little Portuguese and mostly French, Kapela became a role model through his unorthodox lifestyle, his personal universe, and his unique method of art-making: combining disparate found objects to create new contexts and meanings. In recent years, he has gained visibility through the Trienal de Luanda and international exhibitions such as *Check List – Luanda Pop* at the 2007 Venice Biennale and *Luanda Smooth and Rave* in Bordeaux (2009). In 2003, he received the Art Prize of CICIBA (Centro Internacional de Civilizações Bantu) in Brazzaville.

Despite international recognition, Kapela’s work is inseparable from its local context — especially his studio in central Luanda. Many of the city’s artistic spaces are located in the same area, including the decaying building of the National Artists’ Union (UNAP), which houses galleries and studios. These studios serve not only as workspaces but also as informal shelters where artists and friends gather to escape the heat and chaos of Luanda’s streets.

Hidden within UNAP is Kapela’s extraordinary atelier — a space that recalls Foucault’s concept of heterotopia. Accessible only if you know how to call him at its nearly invisible entrance, the studio feels like another world, almost like a church. Light filters through holes in the roof, illuminating a labyrinth of objects: empty cans, toys, plastic flowers, religious items, advertisements, and countless found materials arranged into surreal compositions.

Kapela’s work blends Bantu philosophy, Catholicism, Rastafarianism, socialist iconography, and local praise culture. His studio also contains numerous paintings in the style of the Poto-Poto school of Brazzaville, where he worked before moving to Luanda. But the most striking works are his innumerable collages, depicting everyday people, politicians, and international figures — often including himself.

Many portraits feature a small mirror placed on the forehead, referencing traditional *nkisi* (Kongo fetishes), whose mirrors are believed to activate spiritual power. Some works also include feathered, halo-like crowns. Text often frames the collages, naming fellow artists or elements of Kapela’s personal universe. His own name appears in multiple forms — Paulo Kapela, Mestre Kapela, Papa Paulo II Kapela Baafrica Prophete no Congo — merging his identity with spiritual and political symbolism.

Kapela sees his work as part of a broader process of reconciliation between European and African cultures, and as a way to re-member a fractured society after years of war. He seeks balance — *le balance entre le peixe e le maniok*, as he puts it — between disparate elements. His entire studio can be understood as a vast installation that unites the past and present of both his personal life and Angola’s history, blending real and surreal narratives to recount Luanda’s nightmares and utopias.

source: BUALA — Nadine Siegert