A river runs through us

A river runs through us (2026) Acrylic on canvas In A River Runs Through Us, Benigino Mangovo places five figures within a vast expanse of water, their bodies partially submerged and connected by the same flowing environment. A slender plant rises between two of the figures, introducing a fragile but persistent form of life into the composition. Water becomes a metaphor for continuity: it moves between bodies, generations and forms of life, suggesting that individual existence is always part of something larger. The work reflects on the ways memory, identity and belonging can move through us, carried across time like a river.