Mafolofolo

EXHIBITION MAFOLOFOLO
by MADEYOULOOK
Curated by Margarida Mendes
Opening: February 26th at 6 PM
Artist talk on February 26th at 5 PM

The exhibition "Mafolofolo", by the collective MADEYOULOOK (Molemo Moiloa and Nare Mokgotho) from South Africa, curated by Margarida Mendes, opens on February 26th at Hangar - Artistic Research Centre

“Mafolofolo” is a sound installation that emerges from seven years of research in the northern part of South Africa. The collective has sought to understand the multiple cycles of loss and subsequent cycles of return related to the land, concerned with the deep and enduring relationships with the land that remain, despite the longue durée of South Africa’s turbulent and destabilizing existence. They narrate the particular history of this place and its the potential to seek intimacy, spiritual security, and interdependence with the land and more-than-human life. Through it, they encounter a trajectory of repair for the lands from which they find sustenance. 

“Mafolofolo” offers strategies for recovery, through the historical tracking in the sound installation that references popular African resistance songs for liberation, particularly of the land, against the oppression. It traces a history of violence, racism, extraction, and ongoing dispossession with very real contemporary urgencies, while offering an opportunity for different imaginaries of relation with the land. 

MADEYOULOOK collective has exhibited, published, and organized programs in various contexts, including the South African Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2024. The installation “Mafolofolo” exhibited at Hangar is an iteration of a commission from documenta fifteen, curated by ruangrupa.

On display until May 23rd, 2026
Open Wednesday to Saturday from 3 PM to 7 PM

Supported by República Portuguesa – Cultura, Juventude e Desporto / Direção-Geral das Artes