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FORCED APPROACH - Stadtmitte (Berlin U-Bahn)

 Forced Approach, 2018, oil and acrylic on canvas, 194x290cm.

In Brazil, freedom of belief was ensured by the 1890 Constitution. The decree made secularism official in Brazil when revoking the Imperial Constitution, which stated that the Catholic religion was the official one. Even after such change, the coexistence among groups of different beliefs continued to be characterized by colonial behaviors that opposed the principles of freedom and tolerance established by the new law. Such historical conflict has escalated in the past years, to the extent that in 2017, in the City Hall of Rio de Janeiro, political representatives of conservative Christian groups tried to come up with legal forms of prohibiting African religious manifestations in public places.

The images of Christian saints and elements of Candomblé cults, which make up this painting, symbolically bring the rites and values of two religious groups whose forced approximation during the colonization process originated a new society which, although interracial, is structured by the culture of segregation.

MAYBE IT’S WORTH HAVING LUCK - (Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp)

Maybe it’s worth having luck, 2019, oil on canvas, 165x197cm

TO DECIDE WHICH DEMONS WILL INHABIT THE NEW WORLD

 To decide which demons will inhabit the new world, 2019, oil on canvas, 165x197cm.

THE COUP, THE PRISON AND OTHERS MANEUVERS INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE DEMOCRACY

The Coup, the Prison and others Maneuvers Incompatible with the Democracy, 2018, oil on canvas, 146,5x113cm

Former president Lula’s speech before his imprisonment combines in a single scene the two latest presidents responsible for nearly four terms in Brazil. The reproduction of this image in the painting, which is the central object of the composition, does not suggest any political position; rather it locates the work in time. The work is then completed by the title, where I put myself against the latest political events in Brazil, from the media parliamentary coup - which caused the ruin of a so long-fought-for democracy in the past and which seemed to us to be an irrevocable asset – that removed president Dilma Rousseff and culminated in an imprisonment without a crime that was articulated at a speed never seen in the Brazilian legal history, so that the biggest political leader in Brazil would be barred from running for president in 2018.

THE PROVIDERS’ ROOM

The Providers’ Room, 2018, oil and acrylic on canvas, 194x290cm

Information about the history of Brazil is condensed in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Some institutions endure since the colonial period and preserve information capable of illustrating many events of that history.
The hospital Santa Casa de Misericórdia do Rio de Janeiro is one of the oldest institutions in Brazil, its foundation dating back to the 16th century. It was established to help needy people and its “Commitments” included: "to ransom the captive and visit the imprisoned; visit the sick; clothe the naked; feed the hungry; give water to the thirsty; shelter the homeless and poor, and bury the dead".
Since the 17th century, it is managed by a fraternity that renders unpaid voluntary services; it elects a leader knows as a Provider. Being admitted to the fraternity means social and economic recognition and the title of a Provider has been historically held by influent politicians or members of high society.
The reference of this work is the Gallery of Providers of Santa Casa de Misericórdia do Rio de Janeiro, which displays the portraits of its Providers from the early 19th century to the present time. The Space was fully reproduced in the painting and the added information relate to the background of the portrayed Providers. Although benefactors, some of the Providers were charged of unjust enrichment, slavery; of being large landowners, politically favored; and were removed for having diverted resources of the Institution. 
In short, it is a small group that make up a charitable system with its own rules and policies and which, due to its longevity, is able to set parameters for the ethical values and interests of a portion of the Brazilian high society.

THE SAINT SUPPRESSED BY ORNAMENTS

The Saint Suppressed by Ornaments #1 2018 oil and acrylic on canvas  194X156cm

Objects and images are fundamental for concretizing and materializing the ideas that form a religious system, to which meanings are added and the feelings of what they represent are directed. As for Christianity, such symbols - saints, angels, the Bible, the cross, among others - are typically presented with a cornucopia of ornaments. The purpose of this combination is that the whole is able to cause feelings such as celebration, worship, sublimeness.

Although the main characteristic of ornaments is aesthetics, their importance in the religious context goes beyond their decorative function, as they are capable of presenting and defining the value of the symbol they ornate, as well as conducting themselves the narration of the religious context.

The series A Supressão do Santo pelo Ornamento (“Saint Suppressed by Ornaments”) comprises paintings and drawings where the images of saints in retables and altarpieces are replaced with other ornaments, so that the composition is overwhelmed by a semantic whole whose dimension relates directly to the memory and values of the Christian culture.