Page 107 - ARTE!Brasileiros #40

Videobrasil. To wrap up this successful phase, Lauriano was also Law] and the Amnesty. Both were enacted by the oppressors to
one of the winners of this year’s edition of Marcantonio Vilaça, erase the conflicts. As if the laws said: ‘this is it, everyone’s on
Brazil’s main art prize. their own.’ This lack of memory is a very serious issue, which
In his studio, the artist discusses his work’s repercussion: “I feel makes it possible for Bolsonaro, for instance, to dedicate his vote
that I bear a great responsibility for being a black artist in a society during Dilma’s impeachment to Brilhante Ustra, one of the greatest
that, to this day, preaches racial democracy and meritocracy as torturers in the times of dictatorship,” he points out.
founding pillars.” With the intention of reviewing these values, Recently, the artist created the cover illustration for Ilustríssima, a
Lauriano proposes new views on history, revealing the disputes section of the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo that is published on the
for the past. Sunday edition. The drawing was, as in previous works, a historical
In the exhibition Agora Somos Todxs Negrxs? [Now Are We All map with the terms “genocide,” “invasion,” among others. He
Black?] for instance, he presents a reinterpretation of the first recalls that, soon after the circulation of the periodical, he received
map of Brazil, made in 1519. The work was drawn directly on the numerous emails. Some praised the work, saying that “they had
exhibition space’s wall, in a large scale, about nine meters long and never thought about it.” Others, in turn, questioned the artist:
five meters wide. Since 2015, maps are objects of reference for the “I received several messages from people saying that my work
artist. “In my work, I show how the cartographic representations stimulated tensions and racial conflicts in the country. Many also
and the borders themselves were violently forged with the claimed that racial democracy was beneficial to Brazil,” he says.
enslavement of bodies, first those of Indian and then of African
peoples. Basically, since the establishment of our nation-state, TRAJECTORY
a problematic association between exploitation of the soil and With his oversized glasses and the outline of the African continent
exploitation of the body persists,” the artist explains. tattooed on his left arm, Lauriano takes a sip of coffee as he recalls
In his works, he reprocesses these maps, adding new layers of his childhood in Quitaúna, on the outskirts of Osasco, municipality
meaning. In place of the original words, such as the names of the of Grande São Paulo, as it is called the city’s larger metropolitan
oceans, the artist writes new terms such as “genocide,” “cultural area. His parents divorced early, when he was five. “I lived with my
appropriation” and “invasion.” Lauriano claims that none of these mother at an uncle’s house, where he didn’t charge for rent. She
expressions can be found in the books of canonical authors such as worked very hard. The most present image I hold from this period
Sérgio Buarque de Holanda and Caio Prado Júnior. “My intention is of her being always exhausted.” Now 33 years old, Lauriano
was to stress this absence. To this day, we do not employ the correct began working since he was 15, to help in the family income. “All
terms. What happened here in Brazil was genocide, the largest I wanted was to get out of that situation. And for that there were
diaspora of people in the world. We need to talk about it,” he says. two ways out: study or crime.”
These works are made by the artist with the pemba, a spherical Concerned with avoiding the meritocracy discourse, Lauriano
chalk used in Umbanda. In the terreiros, the pemba is considered claims that it did not choose the criminal life “because I was
a divine element and used to draw dots and to capture the power lucky”. “I was a bit of a coward, I was afraid,” he laughs. Serious,
of the spirits. Thus, by recreating these maps with the pemba, the artist reflects on the context in which he grew up: “Not that
Lauriano sets a ritualistic tone to the work, in a kind of revision of I romanticize crime, but it actually is a way out. Only those who
the history and symbols of colonization. This element of Umbanda live this reality know how difficult it is having no perspective.”
was also used by the artist in his most recent work, featured in the He says that at 17, he wanted to study economics, since he had
exhibition São Paulo Não é Uma Cidade [São Paulo is not a City]. always been good at math. While studying for the college entrance
Especially designed for the exhibition at Sesc 24 de Maio, the exams, he began teaching as a volunteer at an NGO that taught
work reproduces a historical map. It is the last cartographic art and technology to young people.
representation of downtown São Paulo made before the abolition “At that time I knew nothing about art, I had visited a few exhibitions,
of slavery. “Using the pemba, I recreate this 1840 document, but nothing more. I remember when I went to Herkenhoff’s Biennial
highlighting twelve places that were used for enslavement and in 1998 (the São Paulo Biennial of that year, curated by Paulo
torture,” he explains. Next to the drawing is the region’s current Herkenhoff), I did not understand much. But something right there
map, so that the public can “perform a juxtaposition and realize and then marked me—Artur Barrio’s Livro de Carne [Flesh Book]. I
that these places have been erased,” Lauriano points out. saw that work and I thought, “what the hell, someone made a book
One of the most striking places in the work is the current Liberdade with a steak and it is on an exhibition?,” he recalls, laughing. It
neighborhood. In the map, we can see that the main square of the was after his experience at the NGO that he decided to study arts.
area housed, at the time, the so-called Largo da Forca [Gallows He attended the Belas Artes college, “the cheapest at the time.”
Square], where the slaves considered lawbreakers were executed. From then on, Lauriano came into contact with a new universe,
Facing the square there was the Church of Our Lady of the Hanged, meeting artists and theorists and letting himself be spellbound by
in which a mass for the condemned was celebrated. From there, them. After comings and goings, his production took off in 2015,
the bodies were taken to the Cemetery of the Afflicted, where when he presented the solo show Autorretrato em Branco Sobre
indigents were buried. Preto [Self Portrait in White on Black] at Galeria Leme. “That’s
The artist points out that few people remember this story: where I was born as an artist,” he says. In the show, Lauriano
“In the early 20th century, these vestiges were erased and exhibited the installation Nesta Terra Em Se Plantando Tudo Dá
the neighborhood began to receive the Japanese immigrants, [In this Land, Whatever is Planted will Grow], composed by a
considered as more desirable.” For those who want to learn seedling of a Pau Brasil tree inside a greenhouse. A metaphor for
more about the subject, Lauriano makes available about forty the country’s contradictions, the work was acquired by Pinacoteca
publications located next to the work. He will also organize a series de São Paulo, making the artist more widely known.
of debates and interventions during the exhibition. Since then, prizes and new acquisitions were added to his
The artist claims that Brazil “needs to create a culture of memory.” curriculum. With a known career, Jaime continues to stress the
He quotes the example of Germany which, after Nazism, created importance of black people occupying prominent positions. Asked
numerous museums and cultural centers tackling this traumatic about the risks of the market taking control of the cause, he
historical period. “Brazil, in turn, does not discuss these issues. We answers: “At first, there was indeed an attempt to fetishize the
have two very problematic compensatory laws: Lei Áurea [Golden work of black artists. But I believe we are past that point. What

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