Group Exhibition — How to Reverse a Spell
February 8 – March 15, 2025
Lehmann Contemporary Porto, Portugal
Curated by Paula Nascimento

Wallpaper based on watercolor paintings, printed on Classic Neschen, size variable. Luanda, Angola; Porto, Portugal

The wallpaper ma baia ma nzungu represents in the series The Web of Meaning the theme of
the private home.

The series The Web of Meaning is based on vast research on Traditional Cabindan philosophy (North-Western Angola), through their pot lids (ma baia ma nzungu), which were used as a way of com­munication within the Woyo culture, usually within the kinship bonds of families, often between married couples.

These wooden discs were used to cover the terracotta pots in which the Cabindans cooked and served their food. The sculpted designs on the surface of these objects represent keyword phrases which translate into verbal expressions the core of immate­rial culture: proverbs, sen-
tences or stories, setting the grid to select their symbolic value and contextualize each message. Anthro­pomorphic and zoomorphic motifs are very common, but also houses, spells, domestic and personal objects, as well as many of the region’s plants.

O papel de parede ma baia ma nzungu representa, na série The Web of Meaning,
o tema do lar.

A série The Web of Meaning baseia-se numa vasta pesquisa sobre a filosofia tradicional
de Cabinda (noroeste de Angola), através das tampas de panelas (ma baia ma nzungu), utilizadas como um meio de comunicação na cultura Woyo, geralmente dentro dos laços familiares, muitas vezes entre casais.

Estes discos de madeira eram usados para cobrir as panelas de terracota nas quais os cabindas cozinhavam e serviam a comida. Os desenhos esculpidos na superfície destes objetos repre-
sentam frases-chave que traduzem em expres-
sões verbais o núcleo da cultura imaterial: provérbios, frases ou histórias, definindo uma grelha para selecionar o seu valor simbólico e contextualizar cada mensagem. Motivos antro-
pomórficos e zoomórficos são muito comuns, bem como casas, feitiços, objetos domésticos e pessoais, além de muitas das plantas da região.