African Fantasy Revolution is the concept that Eduardo Malé (Agua Grande, São Tomé and Príncipe, 49 years old) has chosen to develop the works that make up his latest creations.
Prints with a multitude of colors or only in black and white, giant canvases, wire or cement sculptures and objects made with vegetable fibers or recycled garbage shape the universe that populates the imaginary of this artist with a calm speech, scrutinizing gaze, like that of a child, and constant admiration for everything that surrounds him.
Under this concept, Malé develops several works.
For example, a more traditional series such as
Octopus Fishing on the Gamboa beach
and other more demanding ones such as
Tell me things with your feet and heads
.
In particular, in this one he uses the wire with which he used to design his own toys as a child, to make heads and legs.
A material that allows him to reflect: "When I work with wire and leave empty spaces, it is like the void of thought, the void of capacity," explains the artist, who lives between his country and the town of Ponferrada in Leon, in an interview with this journal.
"The black man is always accused of thinking little, of working little and these prejudices do not correspond to reality, not because we do not have the ability to think, but because there is manipulation, an attempt to condition men's thinking and African women," she adds.
For that reason he works on the idea of airheads.
The artist Eduardo Malé works with wire, a material he uses to reflect on the void.Ana María Fernández Barredo
But it does not stop there, it wants to go one step further.
"People think, indeed, that's why you have to fill in those gaps, gaps, that's why I have chosen another subject that is very important to me," he continues.
“That's why I work with cement.
Sculptures with volume and density because I believe that thought can lead us to this idea of density, of something that elevates you towards personal and cognitive development.
That's why I also work with my feet.
And cement is a symbol of resilience, of the strength that must be had: solidity to walk.
To go forward you need a lot of determination”, reflects this artist.
Another of the lines of research covered by African Fantasy Revolution is
Don't forget me
.
“Sao Tome and Principe are two islands that are lost, even though they are in a privileged place, in the center of the world, because the Greenwich meridian and the Equator line intersect.
And despite this, they are unknown and I want to contribute with my work to put them on the map”, he affirms.
Likewise, the series
Sao Tome is not a banana republic
focuses on its native country, but with a different nuance.
With this work he denounces the idea of white superiority.
"They have to do with the idea that white people who come to the island get everything they want."
But Malé, as an African who came to Europe to study at the university, knows that he must fight very hard to make himself known and be valued as a person and an artist.
“Things are not served to me on a platter.
However, in Sao Tome and Principe, the arrival of a white person, of a foreign person, is enough for all the doors to open.
This sometimes kills me, that's why I reflect on this issue, ”he clarifies.
The poem 'Coração em África', by Francisco José Tenreiro, has determined the way in which Malé observes Africa
These concerns also led him to explore some of the most important cultural manifestations of his land, such as the Auto de Floripes, a popular festival that is nothing more than an adaptation of the Battle of Moors and Christians that is celebrated in the Spanish lift.
After passing through several countries and the filter of the local culture, he settled in Príncipe, where he has become a sign of the island's identity.
Malé has spent years studying it and recreating it in her works.
Soon, this work can be seen in an exhibition that she prepares together with the University of Alicante.
Sao Tome and Principe exudes in all the works of this artist.
"I think the fact of being born there is something extraordinary and I don't know how to describe it because I feel lucky to come from an island with such beauty, with such exorbitant nature, with such immense strength."
Due to his political beliefs, embodied in art, many of Malé's works have been censored in Sao Tome and Principe
There is a poem by Francisco José Tenreiro from São Tomé,
Coração em África
,
which has strongly marked Malé's career.
A work that has determined the way in which he looks at Africa's relationship with colonialism or the need for Europeans to dominate Africa.
A theme present transversally in the work of this artist.
However, for him, the end of colonialism did not end with the departure of the Portuguese from his country.
After them came neocolonialism with which local leaders have wrapped themselves up to enrich themselves.
Many of his creations denounce these "money eaters", which has led to some of his work being censored in his native country.
Despite everything, the São Toméan authorities cannot ignore him and in 2019 Malé coordinated and directed the First Transatlantic Culture Biennial on the island of Príncipe, for being an artist who puts his country on the map thanks to his work and exhibitions all over the world. world.
For all this, Malé defines himself as "an eclectic artist" with concerns towards his people, towards his roots and his feelings.
“These are issues that concern me and that have to do with everything that is on the table today, as is the issue of migration.
It is these ideas, these thoughts, that I try to capture in my work, ”he admits.
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