Mónica de Miranda

About the Exhibit

Interdisciplinary artist Mónica de Miranda’s Path to the Stars (2022) explores the legacy of anti-colonial resistance in Angola. The video follows a female protagonist from dawn to dusk as she journeys down the Kwanza River. Eventually, she reaches the river’s mouth, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean and where the Portuguese invaded Angola in the late 16th century. During her journey, the woman confronts her own “shadow self” through shifting moments in time. Past, present, and future bleed together through various scenes and characters connected to the river. The poetic journey is situated in a space of imagination and liberation that is at once real and utopian.  

Mónica de Miranda’s work sits at the intersection of history and fiction. In her research-based practice, de Miranda examines colonial histories, geography, and identity by weaving together personal stories and narratives of collective memory to explore the relationship between humans and nature as a source of healing and reparation.  

Organized by Hannah Klemm, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Blanton Museum of Art

Members get free admission.

About the Artist

Mónica de Miranda is a Portuguese artist of Angolan descent who lives and works between Lisbon, Portugal, and Luanda, Angola. A filmmaker, photographer, and installation artist, de Miranda describes her work as affective archaeology and cartography: the imaginative recreation of histories through the lens of her personal emotions. She holds a BA in Visual Arts and Sculpture from Camberwell College of Arts, an MA in Art and Education from the UCL Institute of Education, and a PhD in Artistic Studies from Middlesex University in London. She was featured in the 12th Berlin Biennale (2022) and has exhibited her work in numerous institutions around the globe.  

Image Gallery

Image Credit

Mónica de Miranda, Path to the Stars, 2022, HD Video, 34’41, Courtesy of the artist and Sabrina Amrani Gallery