In this electric painting, Bertina Lopes abstracted an unidentified African mask, breaking it into arcing, geometric facial planes scattered across the canvas. Born in 1924 in Mozambique - then a colony of Portugal - Lopes became one of the most important Mozambican artists of the 20th century. She produced this work after fleeing to Rome, Italy, to escape colonial violence. This is one of the first works from the artist's Totem series, which reflects on her exile in Europe by incorporating references to both historic African and 20th-century European modern art, particularly that of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973).