Ca’ del Duca 3052, Corte del Duca Sforza
San Marco, 30124, Venezia, Italy
Tue – Sat 10am – 6pm
“My pieces prove that objects of violence can be transformed into something positive and something beautiful. Not only that but – to me – the reworked weapons represent the resiliency and creativity of African civilian societies.”
Gonçalo Mabunda is interested in the collective memory of his country, which has only recently emerged from the aftermath of a long civil war. Mabunda works with weapons recovered at the end of the sixteen-year conflict that divided the region, creating objects of beauty from instruments of death – land mines, Kalashnikovs, rocket launchers, pistols, rifles, bombs and grenades – which he warps and welds to create vivid sculptures such as thrones, prehistoric animals with giant wings and legs, and anthropomorphic robots of the most diverse expressions and characteristics. While the deactivated weapons of war carry strong political connotations, the beautiful objects he creates simultaneously convey a positive reflection on the transformative power of art and the resilience and creativity of African civilian societies.