Open Source #21: Ancestral Folk – Eunice Pais
1 April - 30 April 2022
A capulana is a 1.90-meter long rectangular cotton fabric printed with geometric and colourful patterns, it is a symbolic fabric of a Mozambican woman and acts as a means of communication in the continuous production of identities; it is a symbol of belonging. During the first lockdown, Pais went on a 4 month journey, picturing her mother’s memories and life as a Mozambican woman whose identity has been scattered to the point of near-erasure due to colonialism.
The voyage of Vasco da Gama in 1498 marked the beginning of a gradual process of colonisation and settlement in 1505. After over four centuries of Portuguese rule, Mozambique gained independence in 1975, becoming the People’s Republic of Mozambique shortly after. Colonialism meant that people abided by the colonizer’s way of dressing. Capulanas went from being a symbol of unified identity to one of fragmented and displaced identities. Ancestral Folk is a way of reclaiming narratives. Pais asked her mother to wear her capulana in varying ways in response to questions asked:
– Past reimagined: How would one wear a capulana if Mozambique
hadn’t been colonised?
-Present: I asked her to wrap a capulana thinking of present times,
her identity and having to move from Africa to Europe.
-Future, a speculative narrative: I asked her to wrap a capulana as
if she would for a fashion editorial.
A capulana is a 1.90-meter long rectangular cotton fabric printed with geometric and colourful patterns, it is a symbolic fabric of a Mozambican woman and acts as a means of communication in the continuous production of identities; it is a symbol of belonging. During the first lockdown, Pais went on a 4 month journey, picturing her mother’s memories and life as a Mozambican woman whose identity has been scattered to the point of near-erasure due to colonialism.
The voyage of Vasco da Gama in 1498 marked the beginning of a gradual process of colonisation and settlement in 1505. After over four centuries of Portuguese rule, Mozambique gained independence in 1975, becoming the People’s Republic of Mozambique shortly after. Colonialism meant that people abided by the colonizer’s way of dressing. Capulanas went from being a symbol of unified identity to one of fragmented and displaced identities. Ancestral Folk is a way of reclaiming narratives. Pais asked her mother to wear her capulana in varying ways in response to questions asked:
– Past reimagined: How would one wear a capulana if Mozambique
hadn’t been colonised?
-Present: I asked her to wrap a capulana thinking of present times,
her identity and having to move from Africa to Europe.
-Future, a speculative narrative: I asked her to wrap a capulana as
if she would for a fashion editorial.