a solo show by

Adilson de Oliveira

“When I was a kid, my mother would send me to the corner shop to buy bread or milk or whatever. If the price came to, say R17.00 and I paid with a R20 note, they wouldn’t give me R3.00 change. He would just say “No change! Take Chappies!” and give me R3.00’s Chappies bubble-gum. Not only was I now in trouble with my mom, but the flavour of the Chappies only lasted for a few minutes, so I really ended up with nothing. The disappointment when I realised that I was cheated, lasted longer though.”

Adilson De Oliveira grew up in a community of Portuguese immigrants in Johannesburg. The male role models in his immediate environment came to South Africa first in the sixties, as dissidents of Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar’s ‘Estado Novo’ regime. The rest, in the seventies, as refugees when they had to leave former Portuguese colonies like Mozambique and Angola. They arrived with virtually nothing but their families and the clothes they were wearing.

Not quite “white” enough for the Apartheid government, very little assistance was available and they were left to their own devices to survive. Some opened small grocery shops while others took whatever blue-collar jobs they could find. Others were conscripted into the South African Defence Force to fight “the spread of communism” in exchange for SA citizenship. Still, this resulted in a tight community that held on to its Portuguese identity.

Their journey, however, left its scars. Men, once lauded as heroes and appearing to be jovial and hardworking, now struggle with trauma. The irony of their idealistic affiliation with the glory of king and country, sporting prowess on the football field and sacrifice on the battle field, compared to their daily realities and no reward, often manifested in the form of anger, aggression and alcoholism.

By incorporating satirical pop culture references into his representations, such as the figure of 'Fatman' (Batman) enacting activities typical of the patriarchs in his community, De Oliveira adds a layer of irony and critique.

This body of work consists of sketches drawn by De Oliveira, digitally edited, printed and collaged onto board. On top of this, an Augmented Reality element was added so that the viewer also experiences a video animation when looking at the artwork through the app. (Artivive, available on both iOS and Android).

The exhibition is presented in collaboration with and follows after a residency at Brutal. It opens on Thursday 7 September and runs through to 28 September at the WORLDART gallery (54 Church Street, Cape Town cbd).

Adilson de Oliveira (b. 1998) was born and grew up in Bez Valley, Johannesburg, where he works as a multi-disciplinary artist, animator and cultural practitioner. In 2021 he graduated with a BA Fine Arts degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and started working as a print maker.

This sparked his interest in the machine as a technician and its ability to make the digital seem physical. His practice centres through the medium of drawing, video, printmaking, and XR (Extended Reality), as crucial tools of decoloniality.  

“I am challenging the Western art master narrative that allows artists to use assistants and technicians to create an artwork, and then release it as their own. Where does one draw the line? Is there a line?” asks de Oliveira. In a world where AI and XR has become valid and acceptable tools, this is an important question.

De Oliveira is also a founding member of the Magolide Collective, formed in 2019 with his artistic partner Mzoxolo ‘X’ Mayongo. Together they create artworks that incorporate performance, digital and traditional media to challenge the power structures and relationships of master narratives through a decolonial lens and satire.