In the latter half of the 19th century, African nations intensified their fight for independence and against colonialism, and the backlash was often lethal. It was in this context that, on February 3, 1953, Portuguese colonial police stormed the African island of São Tomé and Príncipe. In the weeks following the invasion, they massacred the population, resulting in a staggering number of deaths, disappearances, and detentions in labor camps and torture chambers. 53 is a video installation that Sofia Borges made in collaboration with Honório Soares, Inocêncio Costa, Marta Espírito Santo and Domingos de Barros - actors and dancers from the island. The work is based on facts, witness testimony to the massacre, and present-day perceptions of it, all gathered from the experiences of the performers themselves, the island’s collective memory, and accounts from the last remaining survivors and their families. The narrative is guided by a conversation between a traditional faith healer and the spirits of men slain in the 1953 massacre.
