Cristiano Mangovo was born in 1982 in Cabinda, Angola, and earned his Degree in Fine Art from Ecole des Beaux Arts in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with additional training in urban scenography and performance. Growing up as a minor refugee in the DRC and returning to Angola in 2009, from early on Mangovo was faced with fundamental questions arising directly from the turbulent Angolan society and the world in general. Representing a new generation of socially-focused artists in an awakening and increasingly self-conscious Africa, formed by a country still forging its own post and de-colonial identity after years of civil conflict, his multi-faceted work spans painting, sculptures, performance and design, working towards cogent social commentary with strong psychoanalytical elements.