During the 58th International Art Exhibition curated by Ralph Rugoff, there's no break for all the events organized by the various National Participations. Among these, on October 19th, Akka Project will present the last exhibition under the series "MOZAMBIQUE: EXPLORING THE IN BETWEEN".
As a part of six months program of shows and events created to celebrate and discover the diversity and the richness of Mozambican culture, this episode aims to strengthen the presence of the National Pavilion of Mozambique entitled "The past, The Present and The in between”. Read more about this Venice Biennal edition: The 58th Venice Biennale… - The 10 “to go” at the Venice Biennale! - Milovan Farronato for this Venice Biennale 2019 - Venice 2019 | Prada Vs Pinault.
Through a series of curated group exhibition of Mozambican emerging artists Akka Project is trying to create the possibility to investigate and deepen the various artistic, cultural and social aspects of Mozambique, outlining a path that crosses the country's troubled history up to its hopeful present of change, to explore the in between of perception in today’s society. Indeed, Mozambique, as a country, has a very recent history and all the photographs included in the exhibition tried to explore the period from 1975 until the most important recent events. We must remember that the civil war has lasted until 1992 after 16 long years, and had left the population in a very critical situation.
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By presenting a selection of black and white photographs, the exhibition aims to guide the viewer through the most marginal realities of Mozambique, giving voice to those silent, everyday stories to highlight the lives of ordinary people and to share the deep beauty and hope that can be found in the communities of East Africa. The exhibition is a reminder that our present and our future are conditioned by our past, and that we should not forget the sacrifice of many lives that fought for a better future which we can now live.
As Bruno Z’Graggen has written: “Mozambican photography is photo reporting with commitment. It depicts people with respect and focuses on them with dignity. Characterized by empathy and precision, it tells of many-faceted worlds and denounces injustice. It encompasses the period of the ‘tempo colonial’, the 50’s, the war of independence and the separation from Portugal in 1975, the civil war, the peace agreement of 1992 and the departure into a new and more promising future. Its approach renders it immune against being hijacked by powerful interest groups. It has become a moral authority and helps create an identity in post-colonial Mozambique.”