Jovita, Maria and Luzia, 2024

Gloria Da Silva (b. 2002) is a narrative figure painter and illustrator whose work draws on her Angolan heritage, weaving cultural prints and poetry into stories of navigating life as a Black woman. 'Jovita, Maria and Luzia' celebrates the diversity of Black hair and the transformation that unfolds in the bedroom, activating the figures' autonomy through reflections. Watchful yet unguarded, it turns surveillance into agency, where power lies in the return of the gaze.