Cassi Namoda (Mozambican, b. 1988) Medicine Man on a Visit to Lourenço Marques, 2018

Signed and titled to upper and lower right ‘Lourenço Marques Namoda’. 

Certificate of authenticity from Nina Johnson Gallery.
Provenance: Nina Johnson Gallery, Miami | Private Collection

Cassi Namoda’s painting Medicine Man on a Visit to Lourenço Marques (2018) brings together two contrasting worlds – traditional African healing practices and the symbols of colonial modernity. Lourenço Marques, referenced in the title, was the name of Mozambique’s capital city until 1975, when it was renamed Maputo following the country’s independence. The name itself honors a 16th-century Portuguese trader and explorer, reflecting the enduring traces of colonial history.

In this composition, a “medicine man” – a traditional healer – is depicted entering an urban, Westernized environment. His striking figure, rendered in bold, vibrant colors, conveys spiritual power and cultural resilience, standing in contrast to the abstract, modern background that hints at colonial influence and urban change. Namoda’s expressive brushwork and chromatic contrasts create a tension between cultural continuity and historical transformation. Through this work, Namoda explores Mozambique’s colonial past, social rituals, and the poetics of everyday life, blending personal experience with collective memory to reflect on cultural encounters in the age of globalization.