Cassi

Namoda’s

Dreamlike

Paintings

Depict

the

Lives

of

Women

in

Mozambique

Cassi Namoda’s paintings depict imagined characters in rural southern African settings, assuming daily village life. Her work ranges from lively scenes of weddings and baptisms to intimate family portraits and close-ups of couples or weeping figures. They often have a dreamlike quality, with pastel-coloured skies and indistinct landscapes, and sometimes verge on the surreal, featuring whimsical hybrid figures and performing masquerades.

Namoda was born in Mozambique, and it is the sights and sounds of the country that inspire her paintings. She has, however, led a nomadic life, attending boarding school in West Africa and moving frequently throughout her career. Recently, she relocated from the Berkshires in rural Massachusetts to Biella, a city in northern Italy.