Cultural Week kicks off | Art exhibition aims to promote awareness of East Timor’s maritime dispute

Alfeo Sanches Pereira

The eighth Cultural Week of China and Portuguese Speaking Countries’ exhibition of contemporary arts kicked off yesterday at the Taipa Houses Museum, featuring several exhibitions and events.
The Times visited the opening of an exhibition by Timorese artist Alfeo Sanches Pereira. The exhibition was introduced by the East Timor delegate to the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese Countries (Forum Macau) Danilo Afonso-Henriques.
Afonso-Henriques had nominated Alfeo Sanches Pereira to host one of the art exhibitions for the event, having first encountered the refugee artist in Dili. He was the first Timorese to purchase Pereira’s early paintings back in 2001.
“A lot of them [the featured works] have written the words and flags of east Timor so I think people will understand the patriotic nature of the artworks themselves,” said Henriques.
Part of the exhibition is dedicated to East Timor’s ongoing maritime border dispute with neighboring Australia.
Several of Pereira’s paintings allude to East Timorese oil and gas resources.
“A lot of it is talking about the sacrifices of East Timor. A lot of sacrifices occurred over the period of time before we managed to get our independence,” Danilo told the Times. “I’m thinking he wants to remember that and pay homage to that.”

Aspect of the exhibition

The delegate also shared that there are some local galleries interested in bringing Timorese artists in the region, in a bid to raise awareness on the issue the country is facing.
Pereira said that he is thrilled to have been invited to the region to showcase his artworks, especially his patriotic paintings.
“At the moment I’m more focused on Timor’s oil, our oil that the Australian government stole […] I want the world to know that this cannot happen,” he lamented.
His exhibition, titled ‘Missing Threads,’ also portrays the importance of “simple living.” According to the artist, he focuses on stories that are necessary and important to the audience.
Pereira said he also aimed to encourage the audience to be aware of social issues and develop mindfulness. He argued that more people are becoming selfish and more inclined toward protecting their own habitat than contributing to the world around them.
“It’s like people understand that there’s global warming, but even though they understand, they cannot stop using cars. We’re too dependent on what we have today.”
Pereira is still unsure whether his paintings will go on sale. He admitted that there had been no plans until just recently.
“I would love to keep them. Paintings are like a diary of my own life or what is happening at that time or what I was thinking,” he said. “I would like to have that with me [because] money is like water. It just goes and it never stays [but] my artwork will stay with me.”