2019 | 1st Edition

Maningue nice - Fascículo 15

Elisiário Miranda

MozambiqueModern ArquitectureFreedomPost-colonialismArchiveEstado Novo

"The visual narrative of this booklet, composed of fragments from various buildings constructed in Mozambique during the Estado Novo (New State), is based on the photographic archive of Elisiário Miranda. This archive has been developed within the context of his post-colonial research, based on the premise that modern architecture, beyond representing the power of the colonial state, served as a vehicle for racial and social segregation, as evidenced by the analysis of programs and designs. This 'guilt of architecture' alone could discourage us from publishing it if the issue were not a bit more complex. We identify with Michel Foucault when he states that there is not truly an oppressive or liberating machine, simultaneously arguing that the same architecture can serve different purposes (for example, the panoptic qualities of the Familistère de Guise could equally serve as a prison). In this sense, blaming architecture for anything is to disregard that 'the guarantee of freedom only exists with a practice of freedom'..." Pedro Bandeira, 2019