Simão Cardoso Pereira (Timor Leste-Dili)
Simão Cardoso Pereira is an artist member of the Arte Moris collective, based in Dili, Timor Leste. His works mostly talk about the cultural idioms and social problems in Timor Leste. He frequently uses painting, digital imaging, and multimedia works as the media. He has participated in a number of group exhibitions in Dili, Sydney, and Wollongong. Outside the art scene, he works on various documentary films for many non-governmental organizations. He now lives in Batugade, Timor Leste.
“Identitas” (2021)
Documentary film
30 minutes
Since the onset of the pandemic, Simão Cardoso Pereira has been living in a village near the border between Timor-Leste and Indonesia. This film is based on his observation of the traditions of the Timor-Leste people, especially the Balibo people, passed down from generation to generation, since the era of kingdoms, colonization, up to post independence.
Certain rituals were carried out in order to survive, avoid various diseases, and fight colonization. Although some traditions are starting to be abandoned due to changes and modernization, some customs are still preserved because they relate closely to the existence of forests, mountains, rocks, and springs that need to be preserved for future generations.
The photographs of colonial life in this film have no copyrights to show a form of resistance against those forcefully nullifying the rights of Timor-Leste people.
