About this artwork:
STATEMENT I "African colors always had a strong influence in artists. African art it is always colorful and fun. The African Continent it is known for having the oldest cave paintings in the world. Our connection with Africa is more than natural and obvious. If the skin color changes due to climate change and regions, also changes due to our lifestyle. The racism, tribalism or any other forms of segregation are a form of denial from our ancestors.".
CONCEPT Pan-Africanism it is the idea that people with African descent have common interests and for that reason they should be unified. Historically, the Pan-Africanism has often taken the shape of a political or cultural movement.
STATEMENT II "I am descendant from Portuguese, Spanish and Angolan ancestors. My grandmother is Angolan, born in the city of Luanda. Luanda is the richest city in the African Continent. I made this artwork, as a self-portrait with the red and black background because they are the colors of Angola. This colors are also the colors of the red diamonds or "blood diamonds"." In 2002, a coalition of governments, non-governmental organizations and the diamond industry established the Kimberley Process to control the export and import of rough diamonds to eliminate the trade in conflict diamonds. Today 99% of diamonds in the marketplace are conflict-free.
RED DIAMONDS BY GIA Diamonds are prized around the world for their rarity. A gem-quality diamond is already one of the most rare items found in nature. Of all colored diamonds, one color in particular is especially rare: a predominantly red diamond. “Predominantly red” means that red is the primary color with no secondary hues (like purple). In fact, red diamonds are so rare, that GIA records show that over a 30 year period from 1957 to 1987 there was no mention of a GIA lab report issued for a diamond with “red” as the only descriptive term. That’s a rather remarkable statement considering the number of diamonds GIA’s nine global laboratories grade each year, and that GIA has graded many of the world’s most famous colored diamonds. Adding to the mystique of red diamonds is the question of how they get their color. GIA researchers, who have been studying diamonds for decades and have access to the most sophisticated equipment, are still not sure what causes their color. One explanation is that “defects in the atomic structure that result from gliding (the slight movement of atoms along the octahedral direction) are partially responsible." (GIA.edu)
ANGOLA was destroyed by a devastating civil war that started in 1975. The Portuguese colonialism during the fascism or right wing government of Salazar, made Angola, as well other countries in Africa, a colony to be "protected", in which stayed like that from 1961until the end of 1975. This years were known for the so called "The Portuguese Colonial War". Although in 1975 after the Portuguese Revolution, Angola entered in a very dangerous and violent civil war that ended in 2002, this country lived in civil war for more many years.
ARCIMBOLDO This portrait it is inspired on the portrait of "Spring' by the artist Arcimboldo (born in 1527), of Mannerism or Late Renaissance. In 1563, at the age of 36, Arcimboldo left Italy to work in the imperial courts of the Habsburg rulers, where he successively served the emperors Fernando I, Maximilian II and Rudolf II, becoming one of the favorite painters of the court, making several decorations for the imperial theater and portraits of the royal family.
