Nelsa Guambe (n. 1987, Chicuque Moçambique); vive e trabalha em Maputo em áreas multidisciplinares. É uma artista autodidata. O seu trabalho Inspira-se no quotidiano do povo Moçambicano.

Nelsa trabalha como artista desde 2010. Em 2017 cofundou a DEAL Galeria. É Vencedora do Prémio Nacional de Literatura Infantil na categoria Ilustração.

HOMAGE TO THE SAILOR

This body of work was created after the deadly cyclone Dineo hit Inhambane and its surrounding coastal areas. After visiting my home village Chicuque, i found partly destroyed sails littering the village. Many fishermen lost their boats to Dineo. I collected these sails and use them as canvases for my paintings:

“I saw it as a way of giving a new life to the sails. The fact that one could reuse that material after such a loss seemed important to me. There is so much that goes away after such a cyclone and little life can come back. It was a way for me to bring back life to what seemed nothing at that stage.

During the trip to my village when I went to look for the sails, I found one particular one that was not related to the cyclone. It was of a man called Bambo. His wife told me that her husband died. She told me that as her husband was dying, his sail was also dying. Reusing his sail, just like the ones Dineo left behind, is a way of paying homage to the sailors. The sails are over 30 years old. They have been in the water for so long. They have such a life of themselves. It’s a homage to the sailors, it’s to document the events and lives of these sails, by giving them a new life, a new approach, a new perspective – and hopefully one that will last longer, as a painting in that case.

– Nelsa Guambe, August 2022