BCI and Mafalala Museum: Walking through Mozambique's cultural heritage side-by-side
Mozambican photographer Mário Macilau wins Prix Roger Pic 2023
5:12 CAT | 14 Apr 2023
Photo: Mário Macilau
Mozambican photographer Mário Macilau has won the French Roger Pic Award 2023 with his project “Faith”, which explores the practice of animism in Mozambique.
In addition to the monetary prize of €5,000 (about 350,000 meticais) Macilau will take up an artistic residency in France at the beginning of June, and be given a solo exhibition opening in September at the Fisheye Gallery, in Paris .
“Mozambique and the African continent have artists of incomparable talent who need to be highlighted and recognized. Mário Macilau has a unique viewpoint, and his work often promotes a local reality or collective memory and simultaneously makes us think to change our attitude and take the right social direction by presenting scenarios generally hidden from the public. It is a poetic work that also comprises a social critique and translates unknown realities on various subjects,” said Caroline Chatriot, Director of the Civil Society of Multimedia Authors (La Scam), the organizer of the contest.
The work that won Macilau the award is a project entitled Faith, which he started in 2010.
📸 #PrixRogerPic 2023 | Le jury de cette 31e édition a consacré Mário Macilau (@MarioMacilau) pour son portfolio “Faith”.
Avec le portrait pour point de départ, il documente la pratique contemporaine de l’animisme au Mozambique.
👉 https://t.co/A81O7XkwbR pic.twitter.com/rFMb2RjvZN
— La Scam (@webscam) April 11, 2023
According to the photographer himself, “’Faith’ records the practice of animism in Mozambican culture today. This animism is heir to traditional forms of religion in which it was believed that there were spirits who inhabit objects and phenomena of nature: this explained the influence of the spirits of ancestors on the existence of the living. Through their practices, these traditional religions preserved Mozambique’s ancient cultural traditions. Such practices include teachings, traditional medicine, healing methods, rites of passage and advice on conduct to be observed among members of a community. They reflect local – but sometimes contradictory – concepts of God and the cosmos”.
With the aim of encouraging and recognizing as-yet unknown photographers, the Prix Roger Pic rewards photographic works every year, in memory of Roger Pic, a renowned French director of photography and defender of copyright. The jury, inspired by Roger Pic’s humanistic and generous approach, takes into account the sensitivity and originality of the authors.
This year’s jury is composed of Guy Seligmann (president of the Association Scam Vélasquez), Sandra Reinflet (Photographe Laureate 2020), Nicolas Jimenez (photo director, Le Monde), Stéphanie Retière-Secret (director of the Festival Photo La Gacilly), Jacques Graf (photographer and member of La Commission Images Cool de la Scam).
Mário Macilau lives and works between Lisbon (Portugal), Maputo (Mozambique) and Cape Town (South Africa). Multidisciplinary artist and activist, known for his photographic work, Macilau is considered one of the leading figures of the new generation of Mozambican artists. His photographs shed light on identitary, political issues and environmental conditions. He works with socially isolated groups to educate his audience about the many social injustices and inequalities in the world. With portrait as a starting point, he opens the field to invite scenes of humanity, fraternity and hope.
En partenariat avec Fisheye Magazine, le Prix Roger Pic a été décerné à l’artiste mozambicain Mário Macilau, pour son projet « Faith ».
Une série monochrome mêlée de croyances et de mythes ancestraux : https://t.co/UYXWIbvRUI pic.twitter.com/J6ytMJfm8k
— Fisheye Magazine (@Fisheyelemag) April 11, 2023
👏🏾👏🏾Parabéns @MarioMacilau 🇲🇿 por este prestigioso prémio #prixrogerpic2023🇫🇷 atribuído pela #SCAM em reconhecimento do seu portfólio📸 #faith
⤵️https://t.co/B7DqKRDRzT— La France au Mozambique (@FranceMaputo) April 13, 2023
Source: Bantumen / Scam Framce
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