Mozambique: Sculpture by Mapfara and painting by Phambi on display at the Leite Couto Foundation

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Mozambique: Sculpture by Mapfara and painting by Phambi on display at the Leite Couto Foundation

2:09 CAT | 06 Aug 2025

Photo courtesy: Fundação Fernando Leite Couto

The Fernando Leite Couto Foundation this Wednesday opens an exhibition entitled “Mahanhela” by sculptor Mapfara and painter Phambi. The exhibition, curated by Yolanda Couto, will be on display until August 30th.

Mahanhela is the theme for the encounter of two generations of artists, two languages, and a multiplicity of representations of the collective, communion, that sense of being and being together, experiences.

Painted in oil on canvas, Phambi’s works stand out for representing “human acts” in their lifestyles, behaviours, and peculiarities. While some surrender their bodies to the weight of life, others cling to leisure and entertainment, or perhaps both, with one complementing the other. But the message is deeper than mere materialism.

Expo-Mapfara-e-Phamby-FFLC1-1 — *Photo courtesy: Fundação Fernando Leite Couto*

Mapfara’s ceramic sculptures simultaneously reveal the interior and exterior, refusing to conform to a single form. Their faces multiply before our eyes and guide us along winding paths that transcend reason. With their eyes closed, they avoid deciphering each other, leaving to the viewer the task of the exorcist.

About the artists

Phamby, whose real name is Isac Abílio Tivane (1996), lives and works in Maputo. He began painting in 2015 and became a member of Núcleo d’Arte in 2017. Since then, his first works have been exhibited at Núcleo d’Arte. He gained further experience working with other artists, primarily Butcheca, and has participated in several group exhibitions, such as “Colecção Crescente” (2018) at Galeria Kulungwana and “Feições para um Retrato” (Features for a Portrait) (2018), a tribute to the poet Fernando Leite Couto, at Galeria FFLC. He also took third place in the painting competition “Com o Mar no Horizonte” (With the Sea on the Horizon), promoted by Núcleo d’Arte.

Mapfara, whose real name is António Horácio Sitoe, was born in Maputo on October 29, 1979, and began his career in 1999, when he joined ACHUFRE (Cultural Association). It was here that he learned to make ceramics as a self-taught artist and, over the years, has developed his own style and techniques, drawing influence from both modern and traditional Mozambican ceramics.

His most recent exhibitions included “The Spirit of Mpfara” (2024) at the Maputo Port Gallery, and his work was represented at Expo Dubai 2020, Mozambique Pavilion, and in the collective exhibition “Three Dimensions: Paths, Densities, and Possibilities” (2021) at the CCBM and CCFM.

Among several awards, he won third prize in the 2010 FOOTARTE competition, with the theme “I hate football or I love football”. He received an Honorable Mention at the 2009 TDM Biennial and won the 2007/2008 Commonwealth Arts and Crafts Award from the Commonwealth Foundation.

Source: O País