Vanessa da Silva: Roda Viva

Drawing inspiration from da Silva's own Brazilian heritage, including family history, music and dance, the exhibition explores themes of identity, ancestry, destiny, joy and memory.

Roda Viva, translated as “living wheel”, refers to the continuous motion of life and the cycles that shape human experience. The exhibition, featuring textiles, sculptures and works on paper, is centred on the various cycles of life, the histories carried from generation to generation, and the interconnectedness of past, present and future.

The title also references the roda de samba (circle of dance), where people gather together to dance, sing and play music, not only at street parties but also as a significant practice within religious ceremonies in Brazil. Such a circle, where the movement of bodies creates vibration and rhythm, offers a powerful metaphor for collective existence and spiritual connection.

Colour, rhythm and movement combine to create a joyous visual and spatial experience, expanding ways of seeing and inhabiting space. The sculptural forms invite reconsideration of the body as a permanent condition of experience. They present a site where spirit and reason intersect, exchange, decode and fluctuate, attempting to make sense of all things worldly and beyond.

This exhibition is a reiteration of Roda Viva, first presented at Mostyn Gallery, Wales, curated by Kalliopi Tsipni Kolaza, Curator of Visual Arts. With the kind support of Foundation Foundation, The Ampersand Foundation and the Henry Moore Foundation.