Women always present

Women always present
Carmen Rosa, Soraya Vasconcelos, 2022

Portraits from anthropological collections of former Portuguese colonies of Guinea-Bissau, Angola and Mozambique. Based on the appropriation of references and excerpts from Alda Lara, Tomás Vieira da Cruz, António Cardoso, Agostinho Neto and José Eduardo Agualusa. This set of images and texts result from a dialogue between Carmen Rosa, photography archivist, Soraya Vasconcelos, researcher and artist and Catarina Mateus, photography curator.

In the face of a selection of portraits of women from the anthropological missions, a (re)mix of poetic and literary references were summoned and punctuated by Carmen's personal experience as a black woman living in Portugal with a remarkable childhood in Angola. It intends to honour women, constant and invisible presence throughout the historical period dealt with in this exhibition, who attended, silent and often silenced, to the occupation of their territories, bodies and minds. Women who lived and fell in love, got married, became mothers, adapted, resisted but also gave in, according to needs and wishes of their own, but also that of their families, men and communities. Women whose gaze held us, which we recognise. Women to whom we wanted to return an identity - not given to them in the archive - (re)naming all (except Mussudi Camará, whose name was found in the process).