Todi Kong de Sousa | ‘Metamorphosis:’ sculpting the changes of the human being

Todi Kong de Sousa has always found the arts enticing. Drawing rapidly became a hobby for her, and although she later worked as a civil engineer, sculpture would become a part of her life too.
She opened her first exhibition, “Metamorphosis,” last week at Casa Garden, comprising thirteen sculptures of female figures intended to represent the different changes a human being goes through as time passes by.
The thirteen sculptures represent female figures and exude a sense of calm.
“I tend to represent a slim and slender figure, which we associate more with women. It’s just an inclination to represent slim figures, so that’s why all these sculptures are women,” she said.
Todi Kong de Sousa was born in Mozambique and moved to Macau in 1986. At an early age she realized she liked to draw. However, as time passed by, life took a different path, and civil engineering would become her day job. Still, her interest in the arts never really faded away and she decided to take painting lessons once she settled in Macau.
A few years back, Todi gave sculpture a try, awakening a particular interest in this form of art. While still employed as a civil engineer, Todi worked on these thirteen sculptures for two years, now on display in an exhibition organized by the Orient Foundation.
“’Metamorphosis’ is related to the constant changes human beings experience throughout life. So I tried to showcase some of these changes through these sculptures,” she recalled.
Serenity is another word that comes to mind when she thinks of the exhibition: “Whatever someone is going through, I think, with serenity you can overcome any situation. There’s a common element to each sculpture: serenity.”
Indeed, the thirteen slim figures guide us through a serene atmosphere. And its shadows, inadvertently created in the Casa Garden’s gallery walls, become an extension of the exhibition in itself.
“Metamorphosis” is also intended to address “the mystery of life,” Todi stressed, because “since the moment we are born until the moment we die, we go through so many changes.”
“We also tend to think about what is our role throughout life,” she added.
The artist highlighted one particular sculpture at the center of the exhibition, which represents what “we are all looking for: our ‘Inner Peace.’”
In some other sculptures, Todi used fabrics or metallic nets to help her showcase the different changes a human being goes through. “I used epoxy for the molding of these sculptures, which is a self-hardening material. As it does not need to go into an oven, it gives me more freedom to shape the sculptures without depending on other elements. I did the molding and after a while they would harden,” she recalled.
Todi is determined to continue working on other sculptures, now that her job as a civil engineer is on a part-time basis.
The exhibition will be on display at Casa Garden’s gallery until February 21. It is open to the public every day from 10am to 7pm, except on Mondays and public holidays.