Anna Nunes (1993) is presenting works from her latest project, "O Mundo Imaginário" at the Limburg Biennale (Netherlands) and the X Biennial of Art and Culture of São Tomé and Príncipe. The Limburg Biennale can still be visited until Sunday August 25. The project, which had Nunes in residency in São Tomé, is supported by a grant from Dutch Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie and local organization Surfers Proud of African Women (SOMA), which promotes gender equality on the island.
In this project Nunes examines and challenges the local gender disparities ingrained by an historical context of Dutch and Portuguese colonial rule and slavery. Noting that till today this legacy still manifests itself in violence and polarization through the authority granted to men, Nunes goes back to the core. She hits on the early shaping of values in the pre-formative phase of boys and girls, and composes an alternative future vision.
As part of the project, Nunes facilitated an artistic workshop where local artist Derley Camblé and little boys from the Santana village shared their creativity and knowledge of traditional games to help the girls in creating their own Tabua boards, in leaving their domestic chores to play together in the sea. By creating space for mixed-gender playing and learning, Nunes embraces the unifying power of games, using children's playful creativity to make a socio-political statement and inspire an experience-based genuine change.
Nunes' series of oil paintings “The coloniality of gender”, created in the "O Mundo Imaginário" project, show dreamlike, fragile visions of nude girls in typical boys activities, seemingly in their element. Minimalistic, almost sketchy, monochromatic images that surface on large natural linen formats, as if appearing from a foggy future. The subdued, simple compositions with the monochromatic fragile nude girls and the non-primed canvas lend an almost esoteric, pure dimension to her visions.
Check out Anna Nunes' artist page for more information & available artworks
