Héctor Zamora is internationally recognized for his research that problematizes questions related to social norms and to aesthetic and archetypical legacies, generally based on traditional aspects linked to the historical weight of Western cultures. For the exhibition As Circunstâncias the artist is carrying out two significant “actions” for the first time, establishing a dialogue between the weight of historical tradition and the iconography of gender.
The performance Movimentos Emissores da Existência brings together women volunteers in gallery’s attached pavilion for an action lasting several minutes, the remnants of which will form a large sculptural installation of earthenware vessels, traditionally made by male potters. The action evokes the universal image of the woman who carries a pot on her head, alluding to various aspects ranging from her power in the struggle for survival to the subtlety of her move ments. The action carried out by the women perturbs the order of things and, coupled with the monochrome setting and dramatic lighting, approaches questions related to the standards and rules that society has imposed on women throughout history. Like the title of the exhibition As Circunstâncias, the action Movimentos Emissores da Existência stems from a concept established by Luandan author Gonçalo M. Tavares, where he says that “there are two different sorts of movements: those that receive the happenings and seek to adapt to them as best as possible: receptor movements of existence, in opposition to the movements that deliberately create concrete situations, which alter the momentary conditions of existence: emitter movements of existence.”
