Gonçalo Mabunda draws from the collective memory of his country, Mozambique: a country whose long civil war remains ingrained in the memories of its inhabitants. His sculptures give anthropomorphic form to AK47s, rocket launchers, pistols and other objects of destruction – weapons that were recovered in 1992 at the end of a fifteen-year conflict that divided the region. The deactivated weapons of war carry strong political connotations, yet the compositions he creates also convey a positive reflection on the transformative power of art and the resilience and creativity of Mozambique.

Mabunda’s work was included in the 56th Venice Biennale (2015) and Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design (2015–19: Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein; Guggenheim Museum Bilbao; CCCB Barcelona and Blanton Museum of Art Austin.