Ilídio Candja Candja (Maputo, 1976) is a Mozambican artist who lives and works in Portugal, specifically in the city of Porto. He attended the Escola de Artes Visuais de Maputo between 1997 and 1999. He began his artistic career in 2002, presenting solo exhibitions, including: Resonance of Form: A Tribute to Sarah Baartman, This Is Not a White Cube Gallery, Lisbon, PT (2024); Black Silence in the Form of Chocolate, Johnson Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, USA (2023); Octopus e Miopia, Galeria Quadrum (Galerias Municipais de Lisboa), curated by Rafael Mouzinho, Lisbon, PT (2021); Nothing Is Lost, Everything Becomes… Cosmos Part #2, Galerie Frédéric Storme, Lille, FR (2018); Freedom, OOA Gallery, Barcelona, ES (2018); Mozambique: The Dialogue Continues, GAFRA – Gallery of African Art, UK (2015); Archive, Galerie Lumières d’Afrique, Brussels, BE (2014); The Game Is to Survive, Galerie Gree-t-room, Hamburg, DE (catalogue) (2012); Ya, Sense of Life, Galerie Rammlmair, Hanover, DE (2012); Vertical Thinking, Camões Institute, Maputo, MZ (2005).
He has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including Lúcido Devaneio, curated by Hiuwai Chiu and Raphael Fonseca, Galeria Municipal do Porto (2025); Problem of Primitivism from Portugal, curated by Marta Mestre and Mariana Pinto dos Santos, CIAJG, Guimarães (2024); and Anozero’24 – Coimbra Biennial, curated by Marta Mestre and Ángel Calvo Ulloa (2024).
His works are included in the following collections: Marshall & Stephanie Abes Collection, Atlanta, USA; The Spier Art Collection, Cape Town, South Africa; Atlantic Private Bank, Lisbon, PT; Camões Institute, Maputo, MZ; Art Collection of Eduardo Mondlane University, MZ; Art Collection of the Franco-Mozambican Cultural Center, Maputo, MZ; Bank of Mozambique, Maputo, MZ.