Kiluanji Kia Henda's Sardinian Migration Works at MAN Nuoro

The MAN museum in Nuoro, Sardinia, presents 'Something Happened on the Way to Heaven', a solo exhibition by Angolan artist Kiluanji Kia Henda (born 1979, Luanda). Curated by museum director Luigi Fassi, the show results from Kia Henda's participation in the second edition of MAN's residency program for African artists. The exhibition focuses on migration, combining aesthetic research with social critique. Central is 'The Geometric Ballad of Fear', a series of black-and-white photographs of Sardinian coasts overlaid with grids that evoke the confinement of migrants and restricted movement across the Mediterranean. Contrasting this, the flamingo appears as a symbol of free migrant identity in works like 'Migrants who don’t give a fuck' and the installation 'Hotel Flamingo'. Kia Henda also exhibits photographs from Angola (2006) documenting urban life during the civil war, marked by political slogans and desperate daily scenes. The artist represented Angola at the 2007 Venice Biennale and won the 2017 Frieze Artist Award.