BUALA

Luanda (1977). He has developed an introspective work, away from the traditions of photojournalism, which examines the socio-cultural contexts of contemporary cities, looking specifically at consumer culture and identity politics. In his oeuvre, time and space are considered in their social and poetic, concrete and abstract dimensions.

He studied photography at the University of Wales, Newport, Wales, 2008; London College of Communication, London, England, 2007; and ETIC – Escola Técnica de Imagem e Comunicação, Lisbon, Portugal, 2002. 

In 2013, his Found Not Taken series was exhibited in Luanda, Encyclopeadic City, the Angolan Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale, winning the Golden Lion for best national pavilion. He was one of three artists shortlisted for the 11th Novo Banco Photo Award, with an exhibition at the Museu Coleção Berardo, in Lisbon, in 2015. He is among the recipients of the 2018 African Art Award by the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, in Washington DC.

Solo exhibitions have taken place, namely, at: Kunst Haus Wien, Museum Hundertwasser, Vienna, 2016; Instituto Camões - Centro Cultural Português, Luanda, 2014; Belfast Exposed Photography, Belfast, 2014; Memorial Agostinho Neto, Luanda, 2013. Notable group exhibitions include: Mask – The Art of Transformation, Kunstmuseum Bonn (2019); 6th Daegu Photo Biennale, 2018; From Africa to the Americas: Face-to-face Picasso, Past and Present, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 2018; More for Less, A4 Arts Foundation, Cape Town, 2018; the National Gallery of Victoria Triennial, 2017; Deconstructed Spaces, Surveyed Memories, 11th Rencontres de Bamako, 2017; Recent Histories - New African Photography, Walther Collection, Neu Ulm, 2017; Disguise: Masks and Global African Art, Seattle Art Museum and other venues, 2015-16; Ocean of Images, New Photography 2015, MoMA, New York, 2015; The Divine Comedy: Heaven, Purgatory and Hell Revisited by Contemporary African Artists, MMK Frankfurt, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington DC, and other venues, 2014-15; Journal, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, 2014; No Fly Zone, Unlimited Mileage, Museu Coleção Berardo, Lisbon, 2013; Transit, OCA, São Paulo, 2013; RAVY Visual Arts Festival, Yaoundé, 2012; Future-makers, LVR-LandesMuseum, Bonn, 2012; the second Luanda Triennial, 2010.