Artists from Mozambique and Congo exhibit in Brussels

Reinata Sadimba from Mozambique and Raymond Tsham from the Democratic Republic of Congo are exhibiting their artwork together at Galerie Christophe Person in Brussels, Belgium.

The gallery owner, Christophe Person, opened the space after establishing another in Paris in 2022 and intends to showcase how the artists blend cultural memory with contemporary creation. Person believes both Sadimba and Tsham inventively approach their art, addressing universal themes while reimagining traditional forms rather than simply reproducing them.

Sadimba, born in 1945, learned pottery from her mother within the traditional practices of the Makonde people. Originally focused on practical objects, her work evolved to include sculpted figures, often reflecting the physical challenges faced by people in her community and the loss she experienced, only one of her seven children survived. She now collaborates with her surviving son, and themes of motherhood and family are central to her art. Tsham, born in 1963, draws on paper using ballpoint pens.

Unable to afford oil paints when he moved to Kinshasa, he embraced the pen as his primary tool and chose black ink to represent his Luba community. His detailed drawings depict a reimagined world of allegorical figures, and one piece recently joined the permanent collection of the Musée du quai Branly in Paris. Tsham draws inspiration from ancestral traditions and believes cultural exchange is mutually enriching. The exhibition runs until November 1st.