MASP PRESENTS NEW WORK BY GLICÉRIA TUPINAMBÁ AND ALEXANDRE MORTÁGUA IN THE VIDEO ROOM
The film Quando o Manto fala e o que o Manto diz shows, through the process of making the Tupinambá feather cloak, the importance of the garment as a symbol of the indigenous people's memory and resistance
Glicéria Tupinambá and Alexandre Mortágua, When the Cloak Speaks and What the Cloak Says, 2023
(video still)
October 20 to December 3, 2023
MASP – Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand presents, from October 20 through December 3, 2023, on the 2nd underground floor of the museum, Video Room: Glicéria Tupinambá and Alexandre Mortágua, with the premiere of the feature film Quando o Manto fala e o que o Manto diz [When the Cloak Speaks and What the Cloak Says] (2023). Curated by Renata Tupinambá, assistant curator of indigenous art at MASP, the film shows the process by which Glicéria makes the Tupinambá feather cloak, demonstrating the power of this ancestral technology in contemporary times and reinforcing the female perspective and the leading role of indigenous women. The documentary was produced by FILMES D'O BAILE.
When the Cloak Speaks and What the Cloak Says is centered on the Tupinambá cloak created by Glicéria. The film, accompanied by the artist's reflections, records different stages in the construction of the piece, such as the making of the net that serves as the structure and the application of native bird feathers.
The garment, used in rituals, is a symbol of the memory and resistance of the indigenous Tupinambá people. Today, eleven remaining cloaks produced during Brazil's colonial period are known to exist. All of them are in Europe, in museums in Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium, France and Italy. In June 2023, the National Museum of Denmark announced the return of a Tupinambá feather cloak, which will become part of the collection of the Museu Nacional - UFRJ, in Rio de Janeiro.
Curator Renata Tupinambá comments on the relevance of the garment: "The cloak is a witness to the genocide of a nation, and what it says in a universe of subjectivities and mysteries is that these people and their culture are alive, capable of adapting, bringing their knowledge and science to the world. In the midst of violence, racism and persecution of the Tupinambá and their leaders in indigenous territory, it is also a message of strength, resistance and the possibility of being reborn every day."
The audiovisual work also reinforces the female perspective and the leading role of indigenous women. Guided by her intuition, her dreams and her sensitivity, the artist highlights the power of the narrative brought by the voice of the Tupinambá cloak from Serra do Padeiro under her cosmogonic and artistic vision. "The cloak is life that pulses, that flows in rivers and manifests itself in many forms, feathers that fly beyond matter," reflects the curator.
ABOUT GLICÉRIA TUPINAMBÁ
Glicéria Tupinambá (Buerarema, Bahia, 1982), also known as Célia Tupinambá, is an indigenous artist, filmmaker, activist and educator from the Serra do Padeiro village, located in the Tupinambá indigenous land of Olivença, in the south of the state of Bahia. At the age of 39, she is intensely involved in the political and religious life of the Tupinambá, especially in issues related to education, the productive organization of the village, social services and women's rights. She was a teacher at Colégio Estadual Indígena Tupinambá da Serra do Padeiro. She completed an Indigenous Intercultural Degree at Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia da Bahia (IFBA) and is currently studying for a master's degree in the Postgraduate Program in Social Anthropology at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). She was president of the Tupinambá indigenous association of Serra do Padeiro and was responsible for approving and managing projects aimed at strengthening the village. She worked for Articulação dos Povos e Organizações Indígenas do Nordeste, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo (APOINME) and was a member of Comissão Nacional de Política Indigenista (CNPI). She also represents her people at the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). She directed the documentary Voz das Mulheres Indígenas (2015), and curated the exhibition Kwá yapé turusú yuriri assojaba tupinambá | Essa é a grande volta do manto tupinambá (2021), at Funarte Brasília. She was the winner of the 10th edition of the ZUM/IMS Photography Scholarship 2022 with the project Nós somos pássaros que andam, and an award-winning artist of the PIPA Prize 2023.
ABOUT ALEXANDRE MORTÁGUA
Alexandre Mortágua (Rio de Janeiro, 1994) is a director, producer and screenwriter who tackles social issues in his productions. He has a degree in Visual Art from Faculdade Paulista de Artes (FPA), and Executive Production for Film and TV from Academia Internacional de Cinema (AIC). Since 2015 he has directed music videos in collaboration with national and international artists. He directed and scripted the short films A primeira mulher (2016) and Vizinhança (2017). He was also director, scriptwriter, editor and executive producer of the feature film Todos nós cinco milhões (2019), a hybrid documentary and fiction film about paternal abandonment in Brazil. In 2022, he published his first autofiction book with Editora Philos, Aqui, agora, todo mundo: como estou me matando e outros venenos que podem me curar. When the Cloak Speaks and What the Cloak Says is his second feature-length documentary.
INFO
VIDEO ROOM: GLICÉRIA TUPINAMBÁ AND ALEXANDRE MORTÁGUA
Curated by Renata Tupinambá, assistant curator of indigenous art, MASP
2nd underground floor
On view: Oct. 20 – Dec. 3, 2023
MASP — Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand
Avenida Paulista, 1578 – Bela Vista
01310-200 São Paulo, SP
Telefone: (11) 3149-5959
Horários: terça grátis Bradesco, das 10h às 20h (entrada até as 19h); quarta a domingo, das 10h às 18h (entrada até as 17h); fechado às segundas
Agendamento on-line obrigatório pelo link masp.org.br
Ingressos: R＄60 (entrada); R＄30 (meia-entrada)
Comentários