Vanessa da Silva: Roda Viva @ Mostyn Gallery – Reviewed

“A joyous, life-affirming show.” Mike Pinnington finds much to celebrate in the Brazilian rhythms of Vanessa da Silva’s exhibition, Roda Viva, at Mostyn Gallery…

The temptation to weave between the free-hanging panels and eventually settle at their heart is irresistible. Why isn’t more work hung this way, you ask yourself, such is the embrace-like presentation of Vanessa da Silva’s centre-piece at Llandudno’s Mostyn Gallery. The exhibition’s title, Roda Viva, translates as wheel of life, or life in motion; it does what it says on the tin.

Though static, there is movement in this quartet of large-scale works suspended handsomely in a circular formation from the ceiling. They capture scenes akin to snapshots of fondly remembered family outings, lunch taken al fresco, or a holiday spent with your nearest and dearest. The mood is genial; people huddle together in conversation, pose for the camera, smiling, wriggling happy kids are held close. They are open-faced, relaxed, comfortable. You can practically feel the glow of a setting sun on your skin and hear the inter-generational chatter emanate from the colour and shapes that adorn and breathe life into their mesh surfaces.

There is perceptible warmth, love even, throughout this exhibition borne of Brazilian da Silva’s mining of her cultural and familial heritage. The artist – who cites Hélio Oiticica as inspiration and influence (perhaps more spiritual than formal) – pulls on and vividly evokes the interconnectedness of past, present and future to explore, says the text, ‘themes of identity, ancestry, destiny, joy and memory’. Such motifs loom large across and are distilled into 2- and 3D works, as da Silva convivially invites us into her world.

In the room beyond, multi-coloured, almost alien-like biomorphic forms (made in 2024 and 25) fill the space. Titles such as Maresia (Sea Breeze), O Vai e Vem das Areias (The Coming and Going of the Sands) and Dança do Mar (Sea Dance) add to their transportative effect. On an adjacent wall is a cluster of works on paper from 2022 with which the sculptures share affinities, not least in their lurid colours. In a show of big art (in scale, feel and impact), these nine works in coloured pencil and crayon may be a relatively modest inclusion, but they earn their place.

A trio of panels hanging above sees disembodied hands thrust in the air, implying a crowd moving together, lost in the moment. Collectively titled Canta, Canta Minha Gente, it is named for Martinho da Vila’s 1974 album. The work is dedicated to the singer alongside Elifas Andreato, a graphic artist whose career overlapped with the repressive regime in which artists and journalists were subject to censorship – and worse. It’s not so difficult to imagine da Silva herself amid the throng, moving to the music: dance and togetherness as act of rebellion.

Roda Vida’s vibe, ultimately, is one of mood enhancement. In its company your shoulders drop; tension you didn’t realise you were carrying melts away; you feel more at ease in your skin. Rarely do experiences such as this occur within the confines of a gallery setting. Art, as it should, challenges, provokes and asks questions so that, upon leaving many an exhibition, you might feel the urge for a good lie down. Rarely does it provide the context and circumstances to simply breathe.

This is contemporary art as a great lungful of fresh air, as mindfulness (sans the cynical ick that that terminology is so often accompanied by). It’s a joyous, life-affirming show, which, for as long as you’re in the company of its assorted cast of Tropicália-inflected characters, has you unabashedly moving and swaying to its Brazilian rhythms.

Mike Pinnington     

Vanessa da Silva: Roda Viva continues at Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno, until 31 May

Images: Vanessa da Silva: Roda Viva, Mostyn Gallery installation © Rob Battersby