One of Mozambique's most celebrated sculptors, Reinata Sadimba was born in 1945 in a small Makonde village on the Mueda plateau, where she learnt to make traditional clay objects. As she matured, so did her practice; Sadimba began crafting clay figures (traditionally Makonde men's work) following her escape from an abusive marriage and emigration to Tanzania. On returning to Mozambique, her career was supported by Augusto Cabral, then director of the Natural History Museum of Mozambique.
Reflecting the Makonde matrilineal universe via her own experience, Sadimba's practice addresses social and individual identity - particularly that of women - as well as a fundamental connection to the natural world. Garnering numerous awards over the years, Sadimba's work has been exhibited in Belgium, Denmark, Portugal and Switzerland, and now is represented in institutions including the Tate Modern in London, National Museum of Mozambique, the Portuguese Ethnographic Museum, Culturgest's Modern Art Collection and Perve Galeria's Lusophonies Collection.