Tristany Mundu (b. 1995) is a multidisciplinary artist who works across music, performance and film, depicting the reality in which he lives through his gaze, and the gaze of those around him. In his artistic practice, he explores themes such as identity, collective memory and the right to imagination.

‘City around the City’, the artist’s first solo exhibition, depicts life along the Sintra rail corridor, where he grew up and still lives today; a place that is simultaneously real and a ghostly ‘non-place.’ In his work, Tristany questions notions of ‘centre’ and ‘periphery,’ merging the real and the surreal, documentary and fiction, to reveal the many layers of the City and its inhabitants.

The Sintra rail corridor is a place marked by travel and encounters. In this emotional and changeable geography, the train, tearing like a red snake across the landscape, draws an imaginary line that simultaneously fractures and links the spaces.

The installation combines a triple video projection, after which the exhibition is named, and a series of textile objects he calls ‘flags’. Tristany inscribes on the flags the living memories of the City – the buildings, streets, meeting places and experiences of the people, presenting a visual archive of the present.

With ‘City around the City’, Tristany shines a light on identities, codes and new languages, celebrating the cultural richness of these places, while deconstructing an imagery that consigns them to a ‘colonial’ space in the city of Lisbon.

In this videoinstallation, the artist explores distinct visualities marked by vibrant colours and deep symbolism, reflecting the cultural richness of the city in constant movement.

Source: CAM Gulbenkian