Luís M.S. Santos’s debut South African solo exhibition,
menino, não fala política (“kid, don’t talk politics”),
runs at RESERVOIR in Cape Town
from October 31 to December 12, 2025.
The show features sculptures, installations, and drawings that explore the, fragility of democracy in Mozambique using, materials like glazed ceramic feet, rusted iron, and wood.
The idea for this article emerged from an evening of conversation and connection. On 31 October, I attended the opening of menino, não fala política, a solo exhibition by Luis M. S. Santos at Reservoir Gallery, Cape Town. I spoke with gallery co-founder Heinrich Groenewald about the gallery’s background and vision, and later with Santos himself about the conceptual and political context of his work. What began as a casual exchange quickly unfolded into a reflection on how artistic dialogue and professional networks shape not only our understanding of contemporary practice but also the research paths we follow.
Installation views of Luis MS Santos, menino, nao fala política (2025) at Reservoir Gallery, Cape Town. Photograph by Patrizia Litty, 31 October 2025. The artist during the exhibition opening.
I had a very inspiring conversation with Heinrich Groenewald, co-founder of the gallery, who spoke about the progression of its programme into a broader and more experimental context. It was a new experience for the gallery to invite an artist from Mozambique for a solo exhibition. Groenewald studied Fine Art at the Michaelis School of Fine Art in Cape Town and completed a postgraduate course in Curatorial Practice, which gives him a uniquely informed perspective on the contemporary art world. The gallery is located on the seventh floor of an inner-city building, keeping it easily accessible while significantly reducing the financial burden of running the space — an approach that opens more adventurous horizons for showcasing artistic practice.
Born in 1993, Luis M. S. Santos graduated in Sculpture in 2016 from the Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade do Porto, Portugal. Based in Mozambique, he currently lectures at the Faculty of Arts of the Instituto Superior de Artes e Cultura. Santos has received several distinctions, including the third edition of the Paulo Cunha e Silva Award, the 2023 Prince Claus Seed Award, and the 2023 Mozal Arts and Culture Award (Latitudes Online, 2024).
In October 2024, Mozambique held general elections in which the ruling FRELIMO party’s candidate, Daniel Chapo, was declared the winner — a result swiftly contested by the opposition and independent observers who cited widespread irregularities. Demonstrations erupted across provincial capitals as protesters demanded transparency and a rerun. The state response was marked by a severe crackdown: reports indicate that security forces used live ammunition and tear gas, resulting in dozens of deaths and many arrests. The unrest has deepened Mozambique’s political crisis and raised international concern regarding human-rights accountability, governance, and regional stability.
The title of the exhibition refers directly to this political climate; translated from Portuguese, it reads “Kid, don’t talk politics.” It felt significant that Santos mentioned his parents almost at the very beginning of our conversation, noting that they felt much more comfortable with his solo show being held in South Africa rather than in Mozambique, where they would worry about possible repressive actions.
Santos described his sculptural process, which combines metal, wood, and clay. The feet and fingers were first modelled in locally sourced river clay, then cast to produce multiples — a repetition that already suggests collective presence and shared experience. The central installation, Demonstration (2025), consists of 51 glazed ceramic left feet, a direct reference to the 2024 demonstrations. The number 51 also recalls Article 51 of the Mozambican Constitution, which grants citizens the right to freedom of assembly. Through this dual symbolism, the work connects individual bodies to constitutional rights — a dialogue between fragility and legality.
Surrounding the feet, wooden chairs symbolise the seat of power, positioned in shifting relationships to the ceramic forms. This spatial arrangement creates tension between authority and vulnerability, inviting viewers to question their own relationship to power, voice, and participation. What stands out is Santos’s quiet approach to expressing such dynamic and politically charged topics. He does not shout at the viewer about the problems in Mozambique; instead, he creates a form of silent resistance — as if seeking a solution to being silenced in Maputo, finding a subtle yet powerful way to resist nevertheless.
Sources
Latitudes Online (2024) Luis M. S. Santos: Artist Biography. Available at: https://latitudesonline.com (Accessed: 2 November 2025).
Heinrich Groenewald (2025) Personal communication with Patrizia H. Litty, in person, Reservoir Gallery, Cape Town, 31 October 2025.
Santos, L. M. S. (2025) Personal communication with Patrizia H. Litty, in person, Reservoir Gallery, Cape Town, 31 October 2025.
Al Jazeera (2024) Mozambique’s controversial election result upheld. 23 December. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/23/mozambiques-controversial-election-result-upheld (Accessed: 2 November 2025).
Human Rights Watch (2024) Mozambique: Post-election protests violently repressed. 29 October. Available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/10/29/mozambique-post-election-protests-violently-repressed (Accessed: 2 November 2025).
War on the Rocks (2025) Mozambique’s quiet threat to regional stability and U.S. interests. April 2025. Available at: https://warontherocks.com/2025/04/mozambiques-quiet-threat-to-regional-stability-and-u-s-interests (Accessed: 2 November 2025).
Wikipedia (2025) 2024–2025 Mozambican protests. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024%E2%80%932025_Mozambican_protests (Accessed: 2 November 2025).
