Women’s Only Exhibition @ Núcleo de Arte: A challenge to ‘male superiority’ – Notícias

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Women’s Only Exhibition @ Núcleo de Arte: A challenge to ‘male superiority’ – Notícias

8:36 CAT | 13 Apr 2017

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If the women of ancient Greece, as narrated by Aristophanes in the comedy “Women in Parliament”, had to dress like men to wrest power from the male universe, here in Maputo, they chose rather to take up the brush and clay to conquer their space.

The result is evident in ‘Exposição só de Mulheres’ [Women’s Only Exhibition] at the Núcleo de Arte gallery which opened on Saturday, comprising solely work by women and in celebration of Mozambican Women’s Day on the 7th of April. The exhibition ends on 19 April.

The 39 works exhibited come from 15 Mozambican artists, some among them already affirmed as Chica Sales and others comprising a generation showing clear evidence of a promising future, like Nelsa Guambe for example.

The artists employ techniques ranging between oil on canvas, acrylic on cardboard, embroidery and pottery, constructing a colorful artistic discourse between the diverse women characters who inhabit Mozambican society. The “Mother Woman” in Julia’s work, Lurdes Silva’s “African Woman” and Matswua’s sensual “Private Dancer” are examples.

In the play “Women in Parliament”, a comedy written more than 2,400 years ago by Aristophanes, Praxorah, the main character, urges the women of Athens to disguise themselves as men and, based on rhetoric, to assert their power and pass laws that would benefit them.

The plastic arts scene in Mozambique is largely dominated by men, but this initiative plainly stakes its claim.

At a time when women claim equality in rights, in a clearly masculine-dominated society – partly because of the founding biblical narrative has man made in the image and likeness of the Creator, with the opposite sex formed from his rib – the show asserts an idea of fairness in technical and professional capacities.

The exhibition, which opened with a performance by Felling Chapel, may also find a certain resonance with the novel “Niketche”, by writer Paulina Chiziane, insofar as it also questions whether woman is inferior to man.

Here are the artists showing their works: Albertina, Carmem, Chica Sales, Gatela, Imane Kamal, Lica Sebastiao, Lurdes Silva , Marcia, Matswa Vilankulo, Mila, Nelly Guambe, Nelsa Jacob, Nwetana, Olga Dengo, Sao Paixa and Tininha.