Our Sophisticated Weapon

Posters of the Mozambican Revolution

Having overthrown Portuguese rule in 1975, the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) looked to the arts for tools to build the new nation on ideals of socialism and internationalism. Working anonymously for the government’s new Department of Propaganda and Publicity, a team of artists including José Freire (1930-1998), João Craveirinha Jr (b 1947), and Manuel Ruas (b 1953) were tasked with creating and disseminating an image of the ‘new man’ through murals, print journals, and screen-printed posters. The result was a pivotal moment for graphic design in postcolonial Africa.

The exhibition brings together 25 of these posters. They chart the primary aims of the post-revolutionary nation, as they sought to establish a new society of unity and resilience in the wake of colonial rule. Campaigns included memorialisation of the heroes of the liberation struggle; declarations of solidarity with the socialist world and ongoing anti-colonial struggles; and directives for the future of culture, production, and women in the new society. Together, the posters offer a fascinating insight into Frelimo’s vision for a utopian future, pitched as their ultimate weapon in the ideological battles of the time.

Our Sophisticated Weapon was curated by Polly Savage and Richard Gray, and supported by SOAS. The full exhibition is available online at: alutacontinua.art

The Africa Centre is at 66 Great Suffolk Street, London SE1: www.africacentre.org.uk

All posters are copyright of the artists.

José Freire

1975, 25th of June 1975, Independence of Mozambique

Two-colour offset lithograph, DNPP, Maputo

Issued to celebrate Mozambique’s independence day, this poster represents the revolution as a peaceful sunrise that allows peasants to work freely on the land, and a soldier, still holding his gun, to concentrate on studying rather than fighting. The lab flasks and cog wheel signal the promise of science, technology and universal medical care, and the jubilant crowd wave placards to declare ‘Long Live Frelimo’ and ‘The Struggle Continues’. José Freire was also responsible for designing the uniforms, banners and emblems for the independence ceremony, and for organising the street decorations in Maputo, the renamed capital city.

João Craveirinha Jr

May 1st, Day of the Worker. May 1st was always and will continue to be a manifestation of the struggle of the working classes and their internationalist character Colour offset lithograph, DNPP, Maputo

The red star of international socialism shines down on an idyllic Mozambican landscape, worked by labourers wielding hand tools and a woman driving a tractor, signalling a new dawn of equality, production and technology. João Craveirinha Jr worked as Frelimo’s graphic designer during the Armed Struggle, issuing posters, pamphlets and journals from the Front’s base in Tanzania. Despite many years of commitment to the party, he ultimately found Frelimo’s cultural policies oppressive, and left Mozambique in 1983.

Uncredited

OMM 2nd Conference, Maputo. Mozambican woman: let us free ourselves by increasing knowledge in productive work, energising the class struggle, making the revolution.

Two-colour offset lithograph, DNPP Maputo

The Organisation of Mozambican Women (OMM) was formed in 1973 as a non-military structure to promote women's education, emancipation and mobilisation during the struggle. After independence in 1975, the focus of the OMM shifted to issues of health, welfare and family planning.

25th June 1976, One Year of Independence / Generalised Political and Organisational Offensive on the Production Front

Three-colour offset lithograph, DNPP, Maputo

This poster marks the first anniversary of independence, a time when the need to restore economic productivity was Frelimo’s main priority. The sudden exodus of Portuguese settlers had caused a crisis of production and distribution, threatening food supplies and reducing valuable cashcrop exports. Frelimo responded by prioritising the organisation of communal villages, collective farms and cooperatives, invoking the social and economic model used in the Liberated Zones during the Armed Struggle.

7 April 1979 / Mozambican women, let us consolidate our revolutionary conquests by participating in the increase of production and productivity by resolutely engaging in the defence of the country

Three-colour offset lithograph, DNPP, Maputo

The image shows women studying, producing and fighting. These were key activities for all Mozambican militants, exemplified by the women of Frelimo’s Destacamento Feminino (Women’s Detachment) during the Armed Struggle (1964-1974).

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