Laima Leyton & Bertina Lopes

We are delighted to announce the inclusion of gallery artists Laima LEYTON (b. 1977, Brazil; based in the UK) and Bertina LOPES (b. 1924, Mozambique – d. 2012, Italy) in the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice.

Curated by Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, the Bienal will feature a newly commissioned installation and performance by Leyton and her long-term partner Iggor Cavalera, together with Raven Chacon.

Lopes will be represented by over 20 paintings covering the 1960s, 70s and 80s, highlighting her lifelong engagement with the anti-colonialist struggle in Mozambique and beyond.

The central proposal of this Bienal is to rethink humanity as a verb, a living practice, in a world that requires reimagining relationships, asymmetries and listening as the basis for coexistence, based on three curatorial fragments/axes. The metaphor of the estuary – a place where different water currents meet and create a space for coexistence – guides the curatorial project, inspired by Brazilian philosophies, landscapes and mythologies. This concept reflects the multiplicity of encounters that have marked Brazil’s history and proposes that humanity comes together and transforms itself through an attentive ear and negotiation between different beings and worlds.

About the artists

Laima Leyton  (b. 1977) is a Brazilian artist currently based in London, U.K.

Her practice fuses music, performance, education and readymade. Throughout her work, sounds are the main tool to weave unique narratives that include elements of audience interaction. Leyton uses questions and actions to connect herself and the audience. This method is common to her works and collaborations with other artists.

'Home' (released in 2019) is Leyton's conceptual album about motherhood and domestic life. It was performed in people's homes until 2022, when Leyton broke the narrative, moved towards a conventional music event, and performed 'Home' at The Purcell Room (Southbank Centre).

During her performances, Leyton modified domestic objects such as the washing machine to play synth sounds and effects such as reverbs and filters. This act is true to Leyton's practice and brings domestication, migration, spirituality and motherhood into the spotlight. Leyton's residency at Gasworks (as InnerSwell) linked local communities to the making and memory of sounds. She is a resident artist at Gasworks.

Leyton has received a fellowship from the charity In Place of War and is represented by the Richard Saulton Gallery (London) and as a musician by UTA. For her most recent project, Leyton created a durational performance in response to “Acts Of Resistance: Photography, Feminism and the Art of Protest” at the South London Gallery in May 2024. Leyton is also a mother, a music producer and part of the Belgian band Soulwax.

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Bertina Lopes's select solo exhibitions include at Museo delle Civiltà, Rome (2023); Museu Nacional de Arte, Maputo (2012; 1994); and Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon (1972).

Recent group exhibitions include The Power with Which We Leap Together, IVAM, Valencia (2024/25); 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (2024); Action, Gesture, Paint: Women Artists and Global Abstraction 1940–70, Whitechapel Gallery, London (2023); and the Mozambique Pavilion at the 56th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (2015).

Her work is held in major public collections including the Centre Pompidou, Tate, Smithsonian, and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.

The bienal will be on view from 6 September 2025 - 11 January 2026.

For more details, click here