Europe, 2010
Africa, 2010

Angolan artist and slam poet Nástio Mosquito is a multimedia artist whose works include music, performance, the spoken word, photography, film, television, and video. Combining entertainment and performance, Mosquito comments on the current globalized present and analyzes questions of identity and the effects of imperialism, postcolonialism, The Cold War, war as such, and migration. Acting simultaneously from different perspectives – as an African, a diaspora artist from Luanda, a political activist, a migrant, a free individual and world citizen, or as his alter ego Nástia – with strong sense of irony and satire together with a precise use of language and vision, Mosquito confronts viewers with difficult issues and uncomfortable facts and associations.
In the video works shown here, Mosquito addresses topics of postcolonialism and the global dominance of Western capitalism by pointing this back at its originator: “I bought Europe. Your pride of a Europe that no longer belongs to you.” In the role of an African businessman, he showcases strategies of both cultural and territorial (re-)appropriation while at the same time confronting the Old World with its continuing imperialistic posture, ignorance, and isolationist policies. (AM)