M.F.H.N.S. (#2) (Authority & Identity), 2016

Nástio Mosquito

Sculpture, Mixed Media
40 x 30 cm / 15.75 x 11.81 inch
Edition of 12 copies, signed and numbered by the artists on a certificate
€1575

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This edition is produced in collaboration with Johannes Elebaut
Medium: Embroidery on textile
This work is unframed
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about this work

These editions are a Billboard Series support editions, made in the context of Billboard Series #4 with Nástio Mosquito.

With his billboard M.F.H.N.S.(#2), Mosquito posed an urgent question about the linked concepts of identity and authority. By stating that his father has no surname, Mosquito not only questions the concept of identity, but also removes the authority that comes with it. Because, as Mosquito puts it: “whomever or whatever you recognize as an authority, rules you. We all give it to someone, or something.” As a spectator, you automatically pose yourself the same question; which forces define me and have therefore an authoritative power over me? Who or what do I follow?

Coinciding with the bilboard, Mosquito made two embroidered banners illustrating, celebrating and interrogating the concepts of identity and authority.
Both banners can be purchased individually, but are also offered as a set at a more attractive price.

M.F.H.N.S. (#2) (Authority) and M.F.H.N.S. (#2) (Identity) were produced in collaboration with Johannes Elebaut.

about Nástio Mosquito

°1981, Luanda (AO) - lives and works in Ghent (BE)

The practice of Nástio Mosquito deals with cultural inheritance in the broadest sense of the term, addressing problems of identity, contemporary culture, politics and post-colonialism. He approaches these issues in a multi-disciplinary way; floating freely between installation, performance, video and music.

His practice often is a collaborative one. Having started as a cameraman and director, Mosquito understands the necessity of exchange and communication to create. He has collaborated with a wide range of people, such as musician Dijf Sanders, artist Chilala Moco and designer Johannes Elebaut.

Performance, however, remains to play an important role, and Mosquito generally takes center stage. Often assuming personas, the characters he plays don’t necessarily reflect his own beliefs, but are rather based on observations of today’s human condition. As a performer, Mosquito consciously opens up space to interpret identity in different ways, trying constantly to offer different perspectives.

Looking to blur distinctions – especially binary ones such as truth or lie, or right or wrong – this ambivalence is never gratuitous, but rather a way of looking at the world, of being able to pose questions and finding them an audience. Nástio Mosquito’s practice points us towards a future in which the categorization of cultural identities, and the clear division between art forms, between low and high culture, sole creator and collaborative gesture, will become either redundant or irrelevant

The work of Nástio Mosquito has been shown internationally, at venues such as Tate Modern, London; Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin; 29th São Paulo Biennial; 9th Gwangju Biennial; Muhka, Antwerp; MIT List Visual Arts Centre, Cambridge, Imma, Dublin; Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moskou; Ikon Gallery, Birmingham; Walker Arts Centre, Minneapolis; and ICA, London. Nástio Mosquito was the recipient of the 2014 Pinchuk Future Generations Art Price. His Most recent solo exhibitions include Fondazione Prada, Milan and MoMa, New York.

You can discover and see more of Nástio Mosquito work on his own website.

Learn more about this artist