In the Picket Family Video Gallery, Floor 2L
Mónica de Miranda was born of Angolan parents in Portugal in 1976, two years after Portugal withdrew from its African colonies and the Carnation Revolution dismantled Portugal’s fascist dictatorship. Her surreal, psychologically charged landscapes have subsequently challenged the imprint of colonialism upon our psyches and environments, and explored connections between political freedom and ecological healing. Derelict colonial buildings being recovered by nature; the staged presence of enigmatic Black subjects in pristine landscapes; and lush imagery accompanied by dense, lyrical prose are among the hallmarks of her experimental film, photography, and installation art.
Path to the Stars centers on the dreamlike meditations of a woman veteran of Angola’s War of Independence, as she journeys along the Kwanza River—a historical route that once carried Portuguese colonists far inland and enslaved Africans to the Atlantic Ocean. Through the eyes of our fictional female protagonist, de Miranda portrays the river as a space of refuge and healing that teems with biological and supernatural life. Her camera is a keen observer of natural phenomena: varied riverine vegetation; a darting fish; birdsong; the thrum of insects. De Miranda’s river is also alive with enigmatic presences, as ghosts of a violent past, visions of the future, and mysterious oracular signs disrupt our sense of time and commingle to offer keys to understanding present existence.
De Miranda’s projects frequently engage Portuguese African intellectual history and cultural milieus as inspiration. The film’s title Path to the Stars references both a famous poem by Agostinho Neto—a former leader of Angola’s anticolonial struggle and Angola’s first president—and the name given to the monumental (393-foot high) space rocket–like mausoleum constructed in Neto’s honor. The film’s narrative also incorporates prose authored by prominent Angolan and Portuguese novelists and poets as well as by the artist.
De Miranda represented Portugal in the Portuguese National Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2024.
This exhibition was curated by Gemma Rodrigues, Curator of the Global Arts of Africa and Ames Director of Education, with the assistance of Sofia Liv Iagnemma ’28. Support was provided by the Joel and Joan Picket Exhibition Endowment and the Russell ’77 and Diana Hawkins Exhibition Fund.