Teresa Firmino
Artist
Surname: Firmino (Portugues surname, given to her father (Paulo Mbathatela Alberto Firmino) by his uncle.
Name: Teresa (Protugues name meaning "harvest") Kutala(Umbondo name meaning "vision" or "to see beyond.")
Date of Birth: Born in the year before 1994
Nationality: Angolan, Congolese and Namibian descent.
Race: Coconut Black Female
Culture: Umbondo, Lingala, Ngagela, Christian.
Language: Portuguese, English and Afrikaans and occasionally twang in all three languages.
Citizenship: Green South African passport, Identification Documents and privileges.
The idea that the African has 'lost' her 'traditions' due to slavery, colonialism and Aparthied, usually associates itself with the idea that she has lost touched with her African identity. She falls into the trap of looking for authentic African identity which in my opinion might never exist. To be African goes beyond Race, Geography and Tradition.
She, the African, chooses to stay inbetween complex identities to navigate in and out of different spaces. She's interested in the present and future, but is aware of the rippling affects of the past in both.
She spends time Self-writing, a process in which she documents her experiences and revisits the writings in order to gain a better understanding of the "Self" to better adjust to the different spaces that she enters.
The link between the "Self" and the relationship she has with these spaces is what intrigues her. She has found that it is within this link lies a key that enables her audience to fully experience that in which she has experienced and make of it what they like.