Helena Uambembe

Helena Uambembe’s presentation at Haus der Kunst for ars viva 2025 marks a bold evolution in her practice, as she debuts works from a new series titled O.o.n.o.o Fever Dreams. In this new series of paintings, sculpture and installation, Uambembe probes the psychological impact of displacement and collective trauma, particularly through the lenses of mass hysteria, fear of witchcraft, and the societal suspicion cast on immigrants – especially those from the Global South – amid rising global conflict. In a series of hallucinatory paintings, Uambembe introduces a searing acid green to her otherwise earthy, monochrome palette, heightening the dissonance between beauty and unease. An installation of small carved wooden figures arranged among layers of copper gauzeevokes a haunting spectral presence despite their diminutive size. In a second installation, a cell padded in jungle green, accompanied by a scratchy soundtrack, lures the viewer in through the disquieting question scrawled on the wall outside: “But are you awake?”

Drawing from the experiences of her Angolan community, who fled the civil war and were resettled in Pomfret, South Africa – a relocation inextricably linked to the South African military’s 32 Battalion – Uambembe explores the fraught intersection of shared trauma and accusations of witchcraft. In this context, even appearing together in dreams, or deaths caused by illness or war, could give rise to suspicion. Her work intertwines intimate personal histories with a broader meditation on how fear of the unknown continues to shape both global realities and psychic landscapes.

O.o.n.o.o Fever Dreams forms part of Where will we land? featuring all three ars viva 2025 winners and is curated by Jana Baumann and Anna Schneider. This prestigious prize for young artists is awarded annually by the Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft and is being presented at Haus der Kunst for the second time. The exhibition is a cooperation with Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft.