The Ghost of Neto, 2023
bronze, plywood, velvet, wool padding
in late 2022, the glasses of one of the busts of Agostinho Neto, in Gabela, Kwanza Sul, were cut off. they were initially sold for Akz300 ($0,69*) – the interviewed suspect claiming unawareness of the value of the bronze glasses. (see video)
through the observation of this event, this installation studies the transformation of the figure of the icon throughout history– from the liberation struggle into the contemporary–, its sancification and incongruence with material reality.
it is henceforth a reference to his recurrent apparition in internet meme culture in the last couple of years. through close observation of the busts of Neto and through its absence in this piece, this work is an inquisition on material value, along with of the divination of the figure built around Neto and the repressive regime he pioneered.
was this defacing of leader an act of insurgence or merely refective of the urgency in the material for those living under the regime Neto drew the blueprint for?
*exchange rate from around the time of the incident