Born in 1979 in Calulo, Angola.
Lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal.
Born in Angola, she left the country very early due to the civil war that ravaged it for 27 years. Her work remains deeply influenced by that period of her life. Access to artistic materials was extremely limited, and she had to learn to work with what was available. Fascinated by fabrics, she began collecting plastic bags from second-hand markets in Luanda—the very bags used daily to ship clothing from the West and China to Africa. Both everyday objects and witnesses to colonial history and global consumption networks, they became her first artistic medium. Later, in Lisbon, she began incorporating Portuguese lace. Long a symbol of social status, reserved for special occasions, it is now somewhat outdated but still carries the history of the country.
She arrived in Lisbon in 2002 and studied at the Ar.Co School of Art. Nine years later, she became the mother of Ester. The birth of her daughter marked a turning point in her practice: while motherhood had always been a central theme in her work, it had previously been approached with a darker perspective, nourished by constant anxieties. Ester’s birth brought serenity and calm, which she had been seeking through her art. Art was no longer only a way to escape reality. This shift is also reflected in her choice of materials: she began incorporating more delicate substances, such as lace and embroidery.
Since then, she has continued to explore new media and expand her field of representation while remaining faithful to the theme of motherhood and its related concerns: lineage and the role of women. Children often appear in her work, representing, for her, the notion of transmission. She considers them future guardians of intergenerational memory before they themselves become transmitters. Her grandmother, who taught her to embroider, is a major source of inspiration in her work of memory.
The choice of materials in her work is never left to chance. She favors fragile materials to tell powerful stories, while also working with humble, reclaimed, and memory-laden materials: plastic bags, burlap, and old lace. This act of recycling lies at the heart of her approach: giving a second life to what was abandoned, rendered invisible. During the exhibition The Power of My Hands at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, she even used Tyvek, the material used to wrap her works, as a creative medium.
She believes that it is this contrast that gives strength to her work. She also incorporates photographs of women and children, adding lace, beads, and pigments to soften the impact of sometimes violent realities and convey more subtle emotions.
Today, her practice has evolved toward greater gentleness, influenced by her daughter, who has taught her to slow down and appreciate everyday life. Her balance lies between the stability she provides as a mother and the freedom her artistic work affords her.
Her work reflects what she experiences, feels, and observes. Every place where she creates influences her production, and every material she encounters can inspire a new series. For her, art is a weaving: between eras, cultures, and generations; between the intimate and the political; between the real and the imaginary.