When locked in the noise of colonising regimes, we can become distracted by the exhausting need to process the world’s past. Artist Mónica de Miranda reminds us that we must never lose our capacity to feel, contemplate and dream. She has created The Island, a non-linear series of photographs and film that considers the complex histories of Afrodiasporic lives and Portugal's colonial past. De Miranda's island is a metaphorical space of refuge, where history can be reflected upon for the benefit of new and future understandings.
At this event, the artist and Professor Mark Sealy will discuss The Island and strategies artists can use to engage with colonial pasts.
The talk will be followed by a drinks reception to celebrate the launch of de Miranda's new, limited edition photography book and print for The Island. Available in an edition of 50, this is a rare opportunity to acquire work by the artist for only £100. Sales also support Autograph's arts and learning programmes.
This limited edition features a hardcover photography book containing a print of de Miranda's work Whistle for the Wind (2022), which featured prominently in her acclaimed exhibition at Autograph. A fantastic opportunity to acquire a print from the artist for only £100, the book also includes a foreword by Professor Mark Sealy, photographs from The Island, exhibition views, film stills and an interview between the artist and Rénee Mussai. This edition of 50 is hand-signed by the artist.
If you purchase the book during the event, your ticket cost (£5) will be deducted from the price.
is an Angolan Portuguese visual artist, filmmaker and researcher who works and lives between Lisbon and Luanda. Her work – which incorporates photography, video, drawing, sculpture and installation – investigates postcolonial politics of geography, history, and subjectivity in relation to Africa and its diaspora through a critical spatial arts practice.
Often conceptual and research-based, de Miranda is interested in the convergence of socio-political narratives, gender, and memory at the boundaries between fiction and documentary.
De Miranda is affiliated with the University of Lisbon where she is engaged on projects dealing with ethical and cultural aspects of contemporary migration movements linked to lusophone Africa, such as Post-Archive: Politics of Memory, Place and Identity, and Visual Culture, Migration, Globalization and Decolonization. She holds post and undergraduate degrees in art and arts education from Camberwell College of Arts and the Institute of Education in London, and a doctorate in Visual Art from the University of Middlesex. De Miranda is a co-founder of the artist residency project Triangle Network in Portugal and in 2014, she founded Hangar – Center for Artistic Research in Lisbon
Her works have been exhibited internationally, including at the 12th Berlin Biennale (2022); Bienalsur – International Contemporary Art Biennial from the South (2020); Houston FotoFest Biennial (2020); Lubumbashi Biennale (2020); Dakar Biennale (2016); Bamako Encounters African Biennale of Photography (2016); and the 14th Architecture Biennale of Venice (2014) as well as in museums and galleries such as the Pera Museum in Istanbul (2017) and Caixa Cultural in Rio de Janeiro (2017). Her work is represented in public collections including The Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT), The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and The National Museum of Contemporary Art in Lisbon, Portugal.
You can follow the artist on Instagram and see more of de Miranda's work on her website.
Professor Mark Sealy OBE is interested in the relationship between photography and social change, identity politics, race, and human rights. He has been director of Autograph (London) since 1991 and in his role as director has produced artist publications, curated exhibitions, and commissioned photographers and filmmakers worldwide. Mark is Professor of Photography Rights and Representation and a core member of UAL's Photography and the Archive Research Centre (PARC).
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Autograph is a place to see things differently. Since 1988, we have championed photography that explores issues of race, identity, representation, human rights and social justice, sharing how photographs reflect lived experiences and shape our understanding of ourselves and others.
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