Solo Exhibition — Os Sonhos do Embondeiro 2013
May 17 — June 7, 2013
MNHN Siexpo, Luanda, Angola
Video documentation, 1'54''
Artist
Iris Buchholz Chocolate
Curator
Suzana Sousa
Sponsors
Correios de Angola
Ensa Empresa Nacional de Seguros de Angola
Moveco
Newtone Print X-signprofessional
Support
Ministério da Cultura Angola
Museu Nacional de História Natural
Colecção Sindika Dokolo
Esta exposição fez parte do programa da Direcção Nacional de Acção Cultural alusivo
ao dia de África 2013.
The exhibition Os Sonhos do Embondeiro (Dreams of the Baobab) by the artist Iris Buch-
holz Chocolate, reflects her experience and daily life in Luanda through various historical and cultural symbols, such as the Baobab. More-
over, it views contemporary Angola as a result of events, experiences and styles of local life. Memory is an essential aspect of the works pres-
ented here. Iris Chocolate explores the Angolan collective memory, analyses several of its sym-
bols in depth, and proposes new readings of events that we have come to overlook. The artist reflects on suffering, the ability of the Angolan people to overcome it and the way diverse cultures are absorbed among them. Appropria-
tion processes and movements of the diaspora are some of the themes explored in her works.
Using different media and working closely
with local artisans, the primary reference of Iris Chocolate is her questioning of the local culture. At the same time, she develops a poetic narra-
tive that incorporates different times and their construction in terms of the collective memory. From the metaphor of the journey that evokes slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, to Angola’s political and ideological connections to the former GDR (German Democratic Republic), or to dance as a connection to tradition and history through Sona designs, the rhythm and footprints of the past and of future experiences are ever present.
In this exhibition, Iris Chocolate, recognizing her outsider-perspective, reinterprets different symbols within contemporary Angolan history. Using installations and video/performance,
the artist develops a personal archaeology of Angolan history within a universal perspective: because repressive systems like colonialism leave no one indifferent or neutral, in the way that war and the memory of it can only be understood by our humanity. This exhibition
is marked by the sound of the heart beating, marking out time and humanity.
Suzana Sousa, Curator