Janilda Bartolomeu

Janilda Bartolomeu portrays, in a personal and poetic way, the dreams, shared heritage and possible future of the Cape Verdean diaspora in Rotterdam and Dakar. In her work, she weaves together stories of migration, identity and imagination, inviting you to pause and reflect on the common bonds between island communities and urban diasporas.

In the context of fifty years of independence in 2025, Bartolomeu looks back half a century and half a century ahead. In the figure of San Jon (‘Saint John,’ or John the Baptist), she discovers an embodiment of the unique Cape Verdean imagination. With her installation, she explores four different aspects of Cape Verdean San Jon folklore. In an associative way, historical, social and cultural meanings flow into one another. From this emerges space for visions of the future that build on notions such as survival, togetherness, the inner world of outsiders and their dreams. An expression of this is the film installation in the exhibition, which forms part of the long-term research project Another Island: As We Surrender to the Tides.

Cover image: Janilda Bartolomeu | foto: Aad Hoogendoorn