Cassi

Namoda

is

rethinking

stained-glass

windows

at

Turner

Contemporary

in

Margate

Cassi Namoda paints figurative works drenched in bold blocks of colour. They pulse with heat, bringing everyday relationships together with fantastical symbolism. Many reflect upon the post-colonial landscape of Mozambique, combining Western mythologies with African indigenous religions. They also nod to pop and literary culture. For her first institutional work in the UK, Namoda has reimagined one of her paintings as a vinyl stained-glass window at Turner Contemporary in Margate, UK. Looking out over the beach, her languid installation fills the striking floor-to-ceiling window in the Turner’s Sunley Gallery.

‘Margate has such a specific quality. It’s like a portal to a dimension that feels very eccentric,’ she tells me, when we speak over Zoom halfway through the work’s installation. ‘Right now, I’m watching two jet skiers go through this cloudy sea. Some people are wearing heavy jackets and others are almost naked. It reminds me of a jazz song. It has this quirky beat quality and feels very existential.’ In planning the work, she has visited the British seaside town during three different seasons. She has also reflected upon Margate’s social divides and wanted to capture some of its contrasts.