Artist draws hope from trauma of Angola
Many search a lifetime for their passion. At 32, Nelson Fortunato Ferreira Da Costa is a fortunate man. He has two passions of equal intensity, each entwined with the other. In Pinar del Rio, Cuba, art was a critical component of his work with special needs children. "I chose special needs because I wanted to help children and because I remembered the confidence I gained from art therapy," Da Costa says.
Da Costa's other passion -- painting -- has been forged by childhood memories of Angola. In "Perspectives of my life," his first solo exhibit on US soil, Da Costa tells the story of a culture threatened by war. Some of his paintings and drawings communicate the fear, death, and starvation that surrounded him. Others recall his early security and later search for love, family, and spirituality.
"Spiritual Door" is an oil on canvas depicting people in prayer. Da Costa uses symbolism like the eye, the door to the soul, to convey the good feelings being shared, and to make connections among African religions.
"In Africa," Da Costa explains, "spiritual support is very important. It makes you stronger, brings good luck, gives hope, and opens doors." If you are nice and help others, you will go through the Spiritual Door, he says.
Da Costa's works, which are on display at the Gallery of Social and Political Art at 565 Boylston St., are reminiscent of Pablo Picasso, the painter he most admires.
In "Kimbango Carries," starving people, ravaged by war, turn their distorted faces toward a man carrying a red bowl filled with food. The man's scowling face is larger than the others, signifying his importance in the crowd. At the same time, the color green is woven throughout the painting, expressing hope for the future.
Hope for the future is something Da Costa has had to work hard to hang on to. "In Africa, when a family member dies, it's not just the person but yourself that dies," he says. The family is a tight unit, and all members have an important role in decisions -- marriage, jobs, children -- that doesn't stop at a certain age.
"When you lose your family, you lose everything," says Da Costa as a look of pain washes over him. "When you live outside your family you have no respect, no support, no home, no confidence, no spiritual needs met."
This is a man who knows what it is to live outside family. When government soldiers murdered his father, mother, and brother in their village of Kwanza Norte, Angola, 12-year-old Da Costa became an orphan. Later, he says, troops came to the orphanage, shot him in the shoulder, and left him for dead.
After his recovery, a Cuban doctor arranged for Nelson to flee to Cuba. "I hoped that I would be with a family when I arrived in Havana, but it didn't happen," says Da Costa as sadness clouds his usually cheerful face.
Da Costa, whose fear of persecution and death never left him, held onto his love of art as he was shuffled from school to school. In the 11th grade, Da Costa became more serious and confident about his art under the guidance of his teacher, Julio Cesar Banasco, who would later become a famous Cuban artist. "Canvas and oils are very expensive in Cuba," Da Costa notes, "so I worked with pen and pencil on paper."
Many of his works today are drawings in pen or pencil on paper. One striking piece shows a mother and child locked in an embrace. The child's body winds around the mother, and his head rests on top of hers, signifying his importance to the mother.
To create "Perspectives of my life," Da Costa painted wherever possible -- in libraries, shelters, churches, and the Boston Center for Adult Education.
When his one-man show ends Sept. 11, Da Costa will participate with his wife, artist Maren Tober, in the Boston Arts Festival, and in Open Studio weekends in East Boston and the South End.
Meanwhile, Da Costa has applied for political asylum and would like to make Boston his home. He hopes to once again teach special needs children and incorporate art into the curriculum.
Says Da Costa of his experience in Boston, "People are holding out their hands to help. I love people better than before. I love the spiritual more than material help. The artist needs spiritual help."
"Perspectives of my life" by Nelson Da Costa is on display this Tuesday and Wednesday from noon to 8 p.m. at the Gallery of Social and Political Art, 565 Boylston St., across from Trinity Church. His work also can be seen at the Boston Arts Festival, Sept. 13 and the South End Open Studios Sept. 13 and 14.
