Kiluanji Kia Henda
Still: Havemos de voltarMultidisciplinary artist Kiluanji KIA HENDA (1979, Angola) works mainly as a photographer and visual artist. Born only four years after Angola’s independence, his work deals with the country’s colonial history and postcolonial identity, often in a humorous and ironic way. In 2012, Kia Henda received the National Culture and Art Prize from the Ministry of Culture in Angola, and in 2017 he won the Frieze Artist Award. His work is in the public collection at Tate Modern and he has exhibited at biennales in Venice, Dakar, São Paulo and Gwangju. As a commission for IFFR, Kia Henda created the musical performance Resetting Birds’ Memories (2021). His design Plantation – Prosperity and Nightmare was selected for the construction of the Memorial in Homage to Enslaved People in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2021.
Filmography
(all short) Concrete Affection – Zopo Lady (2014), Havemos de voltar/We Shall Return (2017), There Is No Light Inside the Mirror (2020), Resetting Birds’ Memories (2021, performance), Plantation – Prosperity and Nightmare (2021, instal)
Kiluanji Kia Henda at IFFR
Concrete Affection – Zopo Lady
In the empty city of Luanda, Angola, there are only ghosts and memories. A man has to take the painful decision to leave his city for good.
12'
Angola
IFFR 2020
Havemos de voltar
A taxidermied sable antelope is the protagonist in a story about conserving memory and linking Angola's colonial history to its contemporary influence of China.
17'
Angola
IFFR 2020
There Is No Light Inside the Mirror
A man finds refuge in a deserted building in Luanda. Confronted by his obnoxious shadow, he makes a radical decision.
15'
Angola
IFFR 2020