THYAGO NOGUEIRA / VALENTINA TONG
This exhibition is the first major international retrospective dedicated to the long collaboration between Brazilian artist and activist Claudia Andujar (b. 1931) and the Yanomami people of Brazil. The exhibition presents a multidimensional perspective of Yanomami society through the art and voices of its people. The first section of this exhibition presents a part of Yanomami society and its worldview, through Claudia Andujar's photographic work of the seventies, Kopenawa's visionary words and the films and drawings created by Yanomami artists. The second part narrates the attacks against the Yanomami people by the Brazilian government and non-indigenous societies since the seventies and their struggle to defend themselves. The photographs presented here document the trauma generated and the violence perpetrated against these indigenous peoples. They were taken, much to her regret, by Andujar and are shown here with the consent of the Yanomami to ensure that this history is recognized and never repeated. In 1974, Claudia Andujar and Carlo Zacquini started a drawing project with their friends Yanomami. They brought paper and markers to the Catrimani region and invited those who were interested to draw scenes from their daily lives, stories and traditions. Yanomami artists and shamans, such as André Taniki (1945), Orlando Naki uxima (1958-1977), Poraco Hiko (1905-1990) and Vital Warasi (1915-1988), They produced hundreds of drawings, some of which are shown here. Vibrant and intricate, the drawings reveal diverse artistic styles and approaches. The scenes capture everyday routines, as well as the exceptionality of shamanic visions. They also narrate the frustration of the shamans at not being able to stop the invasion of their communities. The construction of the Perimetral Norte highway, promoted by the Brazilian military dictatorship, began in 1973 and crossed the Catrimani region, which introduced new and lethal diseases to the Yanomami territory.