"In this new series, “… for the future”, I choose to think about the future using the wax fabrics which carry heavy symbolism from the past and are controversial due to their history. For me, it opens a space that talks about status, history, past and identity.
I started using the wax fabric, interlacing it, tying it and making plaits, during the residency on the Island of Gorée in Senegal (organized by Louisimone Guirandou Gallery in Dak'Art Biennale's 2022 Off Program). The process of handling the fabric during the making of the works became very important to me and a huge part of the work.
I always look for things that are part of everyday life in cities and for many years, the fabric has interested me. The wax fabrics are part of the social aesthetics of many cities where I have been, one of them being Luanda, where I was born. I wanted to use the fabric in relation to the body - specifically to the head – to talk about a desire to belong, a desire to be an individual with many “allegiances” like Amin Maalouf explores in his book “On Identity”. 

Pedro Pires