Absa Bank Mozambique presents ‘Urban Faces and Gazes’ by Mateus Sithole

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Absa Bank Mozambique presents ‘Urban Faces and Gazes’ by Mateus Sithole

2:07 CAT | 27 Sep 2022

Photo courtesy: Absa Bank Mozambique

Absa Bank Mozambique is displaying paintings from the exhibition ‘Semblantes e Olhares Urbanos’ (‘Urban Faces and Gazes’) by visual artist Mateus Sithole, in the windows of its ‘Balcão Premier’ branch in Maputo city.

In ‘Urban Faces and Gazes’, the artist presents a series of faces which met his eye. Faces which are part of daily life or community, whose emotions are stamped by natural reflexes to events, experiences and cultural influences.

This is Mateus Sithole’s second solo exhibition. Here, the artist uses canvas and sculpture with painting and collage using textile, wood and waste paper to manifest his artistic vision.

According to Sithole, his works are inspired by the faces of women and children in a mixture of emotions of joy, concern and uncertainty, as a window of the soul.

In a clear allusion to environmental preservation, Sithole uses reusable and sustainable materials, influencing citizens to see art in a differentiated, comprehensive and accessible way.

“Artistic productions are an undeniable form of cultural manifestation,” says Director of Customer Service at Absa Bank Mozambique, Tânia Oliveira, “which reflect the values of our society and this exhibition, which we have the great pleasure of promoting, encourages sensitivity, creativity, feelings and emotions, making use of recycled materials, appealing, in turn, to the conscientious use of resources, which we, as signatory members of the United Nations Global Compact, are pleased to support, seeking, with this exhibition, to raise awareness for recycling, enriching a message as important as environmental sustainability.”

The exhibition at the flagship branch of Absa Bank Mozambique on Avenida Julius Nyerere in Maputo) will remain on show until the 30th of November, with an official launch at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, 29th of September, itself an opportunity to interact with the artist and various art and culture entities.

Mateus Sithole was born an orphan in Chimoio province. At the age of 12, he was adopted by an American volunteer couple and went to boarding school in Zimbabwe, where he learned to draw. He arrived in Maputo and started earning a living by selling his work on the street in various parts of the city – a life path full of adversity and resilience which makes the young artist a prime example of Africanity.

Mateus Sithole’s works are represented collectively and individually on murals in the cities of Pemba, Nampula, Quelimane, Beira, Inhambane and Maputo.

Source: Absa Bank Mozambique / Media Release