The Sharjah Biennial 16: Cassi Namoda in conversation with Folasade Ologundudu

On this episode I’m joined by Cassi Namoda as we discuss her newly commissioned work presented for 16 edition of the Sharjah Biennial, elucidated through the curatorial theme, to carry. Asking questions such as, what does it mean to carry a home, a history, a language, a legacy, and a lineage.

Born in Maputo, Mozambique, Cassi Namoda is known for her strong color palette and narrative approach to painting. Her hybrid narratives are at once wondrous and poignant, every day and fantastical, archival and current. Cassi’s work transfigures the cultural mythologies and historical narratives of life in post-colonial Africa, particularly those of the artist’s familial home of Mozambique. The idiosyncratic subjects who appear and reappear in her paintings also convey this hybridity: they emerge from African indigenous religions just as much as they spring from Western mythologies. 

Cassi’s work is held in the collections of the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami; Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore; MACAAL, Marrakesh; and The Studio Museum; New York. 

In the episode, discusses her evolving body of work, including paintings that originated at the Joseph and Annie Albers residency in Connecticut that connect to her current paintings on view for the Sharjah Biennial 16. In the works, she explores themes of climate change and matriarchal societies, while emphasizing the holistic interconnectedness of her art and life. She also reflects on the importance of preserving ancestral knowledge and matriarchal wisdom, the role of women in society, and how her experiences as a mother influence her artistic practice. The conversation underscores the interconnected nature of life and art, advocating for self-attunement and holistic living.

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