Mónica de Miranda lives and works in Lisbon, PT, and Luanda, AO

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Mónica de Miranda, Path to the Stars, 2022, video, color, sound, 34’41”, video still, courtesy Jahmek Contemporary Art © Mónica de Miranda

Named after the poem “O caminho das estrelas” [The pathway to the stars, 1953] by Agostinho Neto, the freedom fighter and former president of Angola, Mónica de Miranda’s film traces lines of understanding about the meaning of stars. The artist sheds light on the invisible and uncelebrated stars who took part in the struggle for Angolan independence—namely women—as well as the ecological resources they defended, especially those waterways that have born witness to history, both past and present. The Kwanza River is among the longest in Angola; emptying into the Atlantic Ocean, it provided a point of entry for the Portuguese invasion. As the site of numerous battles of resistance and a natural force in its own right, the river prominently features as an important symbol of independence on Angolan currency.

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Mónica de Miranda, Path to the Stars, 2022, video, color, sound, 34’41”, video still, courtesy Jahmek Contemporary Art © Mónica de Miranda

At the intersection of history and fiction, de Miranda weaves together personal stories and collective memory to speculate upon the relationship between humans and nature as a possible source of healing and reparation. The film reflects this vision from the past, while also highlighting the colonial structures and legacies that must still be dismantled today, especially given the devastating impact of extractivism. The artist’s journey pays homage to the women who fought for liberation as well as those who still struggle today to be represented. Broadening the notion of territory, de Miranda places her main character in a space of imagination and liberation that is both real and utopian. She travels alone down the Kwanza River to the ocean, encountering her own ghosts, shadows, and memories as well as her past, present, and healed future.

 

Marie Helene Pereira

Exhibitions

Une communauté imaginée, 2022, Frac des Pays de la Loire, Nantes (FR)

Beyond Homogeneity, 2022, Syker Vorwerk – Zentrum für zeitgenössische Kunst, Syke (DE)

Europa, Oxalá, 2021, Mucem – Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, Marseille (FR)

Bum bum ba ye [Under pressure], 2021, Galeria Sabrina Amrani, Madrid (ES)

All that burns melts into air: Mónica de Miranda, 2020, Sabrina Amrani, Madrid (ES) (solo)

Geografia Dormente, 2019, Galeria Municipal de Arte, Almada (PT) (solo)

Tomorrow Is Another Day, 2018, Carlos Carvalho Arte Contemporânea, Lisbon (PT) (solo)