Artist, designer, researcher and founder of Yankatu,
Maria Fernanda Paes de Barros , is participating in the 2022 edition of
SP-Arte , the São Paulo International Art Festival, which takes place at the Bienal in Ibirapuera Park until Sunday, April 10. Her pieces are part of the
D.Propósito Gallery collection with the aim of poetically summarizing the ancestral Brazilian tradition. Maria Fernanda's three pieces were created after a long and beautiful journey among
the country's traditional peoples : the
Kaupüna village , of the Mehinaku ethnic group, in the Upper Xingu, south of the Amazon Rainforest; and the
Mãe Barra Velha village , of the Pataxó ethnic group, in Porto Seguro, Bahia. In Alto Xingu, Maria Fernanda developed the Xingu Collection, which includes the
Armário Oca and the
Buffet Abrigo ; in the Mãe Barra Velha village, she was inspired to create the
Halo pendant , which is part of the Filhos da Terra collection.
Among the three pieces, the only one that is new is the Halo pendant, made with a structure in
demolition peroba and
flowers made of white chicken feathers , made by the artist
Txahamehé Pataxó , which refers to the tiaras of the women of the Pataxó village. "It was there, sitting under the starry sky I watched for the first time a ritual of homage and gratitude to the moon. Songs accompanied by rhythmic steps around the bonfire, bodies with the reddish glow of the fire, headdresses and tiaras made with feathers stand out and in those moments connect Heaven and Earth", he comments. "Thus the Halo pendant was born, seeking to
transmit all the magic of that moment ".
The
Oca cabinet and the
Abrigo buffet are part of the Xingu Collection and were launched in 2020 and 2021 respectively, but due to the social isolation imposed by the pandemic, they were never exhibited. That's why this is an opportunity for visitors to see them up close.
“The initial idea was to take wooden cylinders to the village to suggest to the women that we replace the buriti palm stems and, together, weave a new mat. But the pandemic arrived and it was impossible to return. So I decided to propose a
new approach with the help of from my friend Kulikyrda “Stive” Mehinaku. He talked to the women who agreed to teach me how to
weave a mat through video lessons,” says the artist. In this way, the Bufê Abrigo presents the
tradition from a new perspective . “The hut is a place of shelter and protection. It is where entire families live, protected from the intense sun and the animals of the biome where they are located. Its
rounded shapes are achieved using - pindaíba trunks, thin, long and flexible, tied with embira bark”, explains Maria Fernanda. This is where the name of the furniture comes from, whose
doors open and close like hugs that welcome and protect ".
SP-Arte Service
Date: April 6th to 10th
Location: Ibirapuera Park Biennial Building
