After passing through Brasília and Salvador, the exhibition Nhe´ ẽ If disembarks at Cultural BOX of Sao Paulo, reinforcing the presence of indigenous cultures in one of the largest cities in Latin America. Visiting is free, from Tuesday to Sunday, from 9 am to 18 pm.
The exhibition brings together works by thirteen contemporary indigenous artists from different regions, evoking a journey of memory, resistance and renewal through the voices, visions and flows of Guaranis, Pankararus, Mura, Tukanos, Molina, among other peoples. The exhibition mixes already renowned artists with new names: Aislan Pankararu, André Hulk, Auá Mendes, Daiara Tukano, Day Molina, Déba Tacana, Edgar Kanaykõ Xakriabá, Glicéria Tupinambá, Paulo Desana, Rodrigo Duarte, Tamikuã Txihi, Xadalu Tupã Jekupé, and Yacunã Tuxá.
The curators are Sandra Benites and Vera Nunes. Sandra, from the Guarani Nhandeva ethnic group (MS), is a researcher and PhD candidate in Social Anthropology at the National Museum of UFRJ, having become the first indigenous curator in Brazil to join the team of a museum. In turn, Vera Nunes is one of the main women leading large-scale artistic projects in the country and a researcher in public art, gender, race and intersectionalities.
The exhibition was born from academic research by Benites and reveals the desire of indigenous peoples to speak out. It is sponsored by CAIXA and the Federal Government and is conceived and carried out by Via Press – Comunicação & Cultura, which has been operating in the market for 26 years, focusing on the development of cultural projects and strategic communication actions.
Sao Paulo: between rivers
Amidst the buildings and urban landscape of São Paulo, the exhibition delves into the ways in which indigenous peoples view life, community and nature. Since the origin of the world, rivers have been seen as the veins of the earth and channels that connect the physical world to the spiritual, providing sustenance and balance.
Crisscrossed by more than 300 rivers and streams, such as Tietê, Pinheiros and Tamanduateí, São Paulo is a city surrounded by water. However, during its construction, the rivers were buried under asphalt. According to curators Sandra Benites and Vera Nunes, the exhibition incorporates, with a sensitive and feminine perspective, this dichotomy between the spiritual relationship of indigenous peoples with water, and the way in which, in São Paulo, these buried rivers sometimes emerge during intense summer rains, causing a reminder of a still pulsating life.
“Our idea is to reflect on the rivers and the fact that this city is an indigenous land, where its people, like the waters, were also buried and silenced. But it is time for Nhe´ ẽ Se: the desire to speak.”, he explains.
New Tupinambá cloak
The exhibition features the exclusive launch of a cloak developed by artist Glicéria Tupinambá, a native of the Serra do Padeiro village, located in the Tupinambá de Olivença Indigenous Land, in southern Bahia.
The “Assojaba Tupinambá” is a sacred garment used in rituals and made from feathers of native birds. According to the artist, for the Tupinambá people, the garment represents a confluence between the spiritual dimension, the environment, the economy, agroecology and the transmission of knowledge. The cloak also symbolizes the relationship between the invisibility of women and the erasure of indigenous culture over the years.
Tupinambá cloaks are sacred garments made from bird feathers and used by indigenous leaders of the Tupinambá people before European colonization. They symbolized power, spirituality, and belonging and were used in important rituals. During the colonial period, the Portuguese collected several indigenous artifacts, including the cloaks, which were taken to European museums and collections.
The first cloak that Glicéria had the opportunity to see in person was in France. Since then, in addition to demanding the return of these artifacts, the artist has been fundamental in the process of recovering and valuing the culture, recreating the cloaks and rescuing ancestral knowledge.
The constructions
With a mix of artists, the exhibition presents a variety of styles. It is possible to see works more aligned with urban art, such as those by artist Daiara Tukano, a native of São Paulo, from the Yepá Mahsã people, better known as Tukano. In addition, there are artists from Manaus, Auá Mendes and André Hulk, who have already created several graffiti works in São Paulo; and Xadalu Tupã Jekupé, a native of Alegrete, in Rio Grande do Sul.
Also present are the colors of Yacunã Tuxá, from Rodelas, in the backlands of Bahia, and Tamikuã Txihi, an artist who works as a leader of the Pataxó Indigenous Land, in Bahia. Txihi currently lives in São Paulo to help in the recovery of the Jaraguá Indigenous Land, in the west zone.
Aislan Pankararu, from Petrolândia, in the interior of Pernambuco, presents works with clay; and Paulo Desana, from the Desana people, uses neon light to illuminate the faces of indigenous bodies. In the audiovisual field, the photographic records of Edgar Kanaykõ Xakriabá, from Minas Gerais, who dedicates himself to narrating the daily life of his village; in addition to the video art of Rodrigo Duarte.
Also noteworthy are the ceramic sculptures by Déba Tacana, belonging to the Tacana people, in the state of Rondônia, on the border with Bolivia; and fashion designer Day Molina, who presents the work “Encantaria”, a garment made with straw, feathers and other indigenous elements.
Service
Exhibition | Nhe´ ẽ If
From February 18th to May 11th
Tuesday to Sunday, from 9pm to 18pm
