Page 97 - ARTE!Brasileiros #52

researcher, and curator Caroline Ricca Lee. present in it. For the multimedia artist, musician, society is a population of black majority and
Juily Manghirmalani, audiovisual artist and performer, and teacher Dudu Tsuda, “the Brazilian land belonging to the original peoples, with that
researcher of Bollywood film, highlights that it art system is a reflection of our society, structurally it is necessary that these narratives are always
is because of this homogenization that people racist and centered on white European and privileged and praised. Anti-racist solidarity
commonly forget that there are also people of North American culture. It reflects the socio- needs to be applied on a daily basis”. Both agree
Indian origin, Southeast Asia and the Middle political-economic-cultural power structures, that it is only from an anti-racist solidarity that
East in the Asian and Asian-Brazilian spectrum. hegemonically dominated by whiteness”. it will be possible to understand how Asian-
For Youssef Cherem, a researcher and According to Cyshimi, this is one of the points Brazilian issues take place in Brazilian territory.
professor of Middle Eastern art history at the that makes representation in art institutions Therefore, Juily believes that “the moment
Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp), this and the media difficult. “I miss that these of ethnic recognition that we are experiencing
reduction is linked to a lack of popular knowledge institutions and vehicles also see us more deeply, through the belonging and pride of our origins,
of the world cartography. Juily agrees. In his view, trying to know the multiplicity of our individual so different from previous generations that
art can play an important role in dissolving these productions and not only placing ourselves as a were colonized to be ashamed and afraid, is
stereotypes, bringing greater knowledge about category”, he says. For Dudu Tsuda, this stance something that is still very recent. It is necessary
these different cultures. “The lack of people’s does not mean that there is no inclusion effort to teach, open channels of conversation, make
repertoire about other realities and expressions by institutions, but it is linked to the absence of alliances, grow in community”. This clarifies that
ends up creating a distance between ethnic Brazilian Asians in positions of power in these this conversation here in arte!brasileiros is
groups. Art is 100% interconnected with the spaces. “What we are left with is always a look just a beginning, a first and small step towards
lack of cultural exchange.” of whiteness for our bodies and artistic works.” these dialogues.
Shima’s ideas go against this thought: For both, this ends up resulting in an exoticism Youssef adds that it is necessary to create
“Cultural production and its artistic expressions and a romanticization of racialized identities. these dialogues in a critical and in-depth way, in
offer us parameters to say where I am, who I Singh Bean believes that this view of the arts addition to “sugary speeches”. For this, art can
am, and where I am going.” The first step for circuit often limits racialized identities rather be a path, advancing in discussions in a more
art to fulfill this role and actually facilitate this than actually representing them. “Sometimes, it hermetic and close way, as proposed by Cyshimi:
exchange, for Youssef, starts by understanding seems that we are called to exhibit to be a totem “I believe that this is one of my favorite things
it beyond the stereotypes of each region: “For of the sufferer. I don’t want to be in this totem in making art, due to the way in which political
example, why think that the most important or place alone, I am not only that, I also deserve and hermetic subjects become closer, human
most interesting thing about people in the Middle a place to talk about what I want”, he explains. and real, which encompasses and pluralizes
East is a religion? Seeing only this side closes The artist says that she has already questioned the imaginary on a certain subject”.
us off to other relevant experiences”, he says. herself about the relevance of her work, “as if it
It is in this aspect that Caroline, Cyshimi, the were only relevant if it were political”, but she photography | gideon mendel [pages 74 to 81]
artist and art-educator Alice Yura and the visual realizes that this is not a charge for white people. COME AND SEE
artist Singh Bean think decoloniality alongside For Caroline and Dudu, one way of avoiding
the art they make and, for this reason, they wrote this fetishistic or limiting look at dissident bodies South African photographer Gideon
a manifesto in 2020 relating contemporary Asian is the presence of non-white people in the Mendel produces, around the world,
art to decolonial thoughts. “Art and decoloniality curatorship and in command of the institutions. series that denounce climate change and
its impacts on human survival, offering a
dialogue about the possibility of bringing up To which curator Yudi Rafael adds: “If systematic kind of testimony to his subjects
counter-hegemonic narratives, when artists work is not being done by art institutions in
through their productions reveal contexts that Brazil, in this area, what exists today, in more
make this ‘look around’ about our memory, engaged terms, are independent initiatives that
culture and sociability”, explains Caroline. are articulating a field of issues and building “there was a point For me where I was
But how does this work in fact? According to platforms to discuss them ”. researching the imagery of climate change and I
Cyshimi, by opposing the idea of an ancestry felt that it was very white on many levels, and very
just fetishized and celebrated, politicizing unDer a CritiCal anD DissiDent eYe distant – images of polar bears and glaciers and
identities. As Caroline complements, thinking For Yudi, understanding this plurality and the often very beautiful scenarios”, reports Gideon
about an artistic discourse that is not satisfied Asian-Brazilian issue involves research and Mendel. The South African photographer - with
only by unique report, but proposes to discuss dialogue by curators and institutions. “Without a body of work related to climate disasters that
collective and social issues and goes beyond a historical and critical perspective, Asian- goes beyond a decade - seeks to offer another
guiding identity is also part of this movement, Brazilian is ‘confused’ with Asian. So, there is a facet for the representation in images of one of
“because in decoloniality there is an intrinsic lack of understanding that to talk about Brazilian the most perplexing global crises.
opposition to colonial history, imperialist, Asianities is to talk about Brazil”, he explains. For Mendel, a lot of the dialogue around
patriarchal and normative”, explains the artist. In this aspect, it is necessary to expand climate change and the response of
Thus, they propose that the discussion expands the understanding of race relations in Brazil, organizations is linked to a type of white, middle-
not only to the Asian-Brazilian agenda, but to understanding that the myth of the three races class and formerly hippie ecological movement,
the inclusion of dissident bodies as a whole, does not make sense when we have so many which would be limiting its effectiveness, given
with their intersectionality’s. plural ethnic groups composing the country. that climate change affects many people of color
“We don’t go through the structural racism around the world. “I really feel it [the world]
in the art worlD that black people go through, but we are needs an injection of a much more radical kind
It is at this point that we enter the circuit of the obviously not white people,” says Cyshimi. To of activism”, he confesses. Gideon’s observation
arts and begin to reflect on the representativeness which Caroline adds: “It is a fact that Brazilian is not unreasonable, as researcher Emmanuel

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