This project was developed in 2022 during the Catchupa Factory artist residency in Cape Verde and addresses the consequences of Portuguese colonialism in the breaking up of families, the fragmentation of identities and the dilution of memories and traditions. Through photography and collages, I explore the complex connections between Mozambique and Cape Verde, two countries with histories intertwined by colonization, but separated by time and space.

On December 16, 1976, my parents, deeply in love, got married and decided to live happily ever after. I've always looked at their wedding photos and old family photos with inexplicable nostalgia, even though I was born a long time later. They got married in a post-colonial context, where the wounds and marks of the colonial past were still latent, and this context has always made me reflect on all the historical implications that led them to meet.

Part of my mother's and father's ancestors were forced to migrate from Cape Verde to Mozambique, where they ended up putting down roots. However, over time, there was a deep disconnect - geographically, mentally and spiritually - between the two sides of the Atlantic. This estrangement was also reflected in the “dilution of the blood” through successive generations, who gradually lost touch with the traditions and memories of their land of origin, although Cape Verde continues to be fondly remembered.

Through the collages, I recreated alternative times and spaces between Mozambique and Cape Verde, between the past, the present and a possible future, where my family existed, could exist or exists simultaneously in all these dimensions. These imagined scenarios offer a form of catharsis for the abrupt rupture caused by colonization and make it possible to create an ideal reality where ancestral and cultural ties have not been lost, but preserved and reconstituted.

This work seeks not only to understand my family's trajectory, but also to reflect on the experience shared by so many African families whose memories and histories have been fragmented by colonialism. Ultimately, it tries to unite these scattered pieces and reimagine an existence where identity, tradition and memory coexist, symbolically reconstructing the roots that have been severed, but which still persist in the memory and in the heart.

I seek to bridge the gap between personal experiences and collective histories. I use mixed media, photography, and digital and analog collages to examine the nuances of African heritage and the diaspora. Inspired by the cultural richness of Mozambique, I explore themes of belonging, displacement, and the complexities of colonial and post-colonial African identities. With the collages I can create alternative realities and times where the present, past, and future can co-exist, creating new narratives.

By combining layered visual and symbolic elements, I aim to provoke a dialog about the evolving nature of African cultural expression and its representation in contemporary art.

Thandi Pinto, born in Maputo, Mozambique in 1990, is an artist whose work explores memory, identity, and belonging through photography, digital art, and collage. Her practice combines poetic and political elements, often navigating themes of displacement, diaspora, and the intersection between personal and collective memory.

Her passion for the visual arts has shaped her journey since joining the VêSó photography collective in 2017, where she honed her technical skills and deepened her interest in visual storytelling.

In 2018, she made her debut in the group exhibition VêSó Chamanculo at the Brazil-Mozambique Cultural Center in Maputo. Her work has since been featured in prominent exhibitions, including African Galleries Now 2022(represented by Galeria Arte de Gema) and Visão do Paraíso, also held at the Brazil-Mozambique Cultural Center. That same year, she received an Honorable Mention in the Better Futures Award by Hollard Seguros, selected from over a hundred artists.

She has participated in exhibitions such as Resilience: Between Presences and Absences at ARCOlisboa (Portugal), Print It! at Aire Place Studios in Leeds (UK), and Everyday a Woman (2023), an online exhibition highlighting diverse female perspectives in contemporary art. In 2022, she was selected for the prestigious Catchupa Factory artist residency in São Vicente (Cape Verde). The following year, she took part in the 6th Imagem e Território – Photography Without Borders Meeting, organized by the Centro de Estudos Ibéricos in Guarda (Portugal), and in the ROOTS artist residency, with a final exhibition held in Lagos (Portugal).

Her continued participation in African Galleries Now 2023 and ARCOlisboa 2023 has helped solidify her presence in the contemporary African art scene, where she continues to explore themes of identity, culture, and memory through her distinct visual language. Her work has gained international recognition and is included in collections such as the PLMJ Foundation, the ARCO Foundation, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Dos de Mayo (Spain), as well as in private collections.

In 2025, she participated again in African Galleries Now (online), represented by Galeria Arte de Gema, and was invited by the City of Munich, Germany, to join two artist residencies: Ebenböck Residency and AlmResidency. During this period, she participated in the group exhibition We Want to Stay Where I’ve Never Been, held at the Rathausgalerie in Munich.