vermelhos

project held at Oficinas do Convento . Montemor-o-novo, Portugal
exhibited at BLAU Projects . São Paulo, Brasil

Vermelhos (Reds) is a group of works produced at Montemor-o-novo, in Portugal, in 2016. The community form Portuguese village was invited to take part as models, or ‘soft molds’ for the ceramic pieces, in a reference to the practice of producing roof tiles from the thighs of slaves in Brazil during Portuguese colonization times. Initially, the four basic skin colors (red, yellow, black and white) were collected and produced in clay. From those four clays in specific colors, collaborators should mix clays trying to reach their own skin color. The mold of the thighs was than made using the new colors of clay produced by each collaborator, using their own body as mold. This way, Portuguese and other foreign legs were molded in clay, and let dry, in a reference to different skin colors. During the time necessary to dry, talks and sings were filmed. Portraits were taken. Afterwards, the clay was burnt, and finally different colors produced at once got to acquire very similar tones, which were associated mostly to the color of the skin addressed to Indigenous people in Americas: Red. The pieces in ceramics were shown as installation in gallery space, but the project counts on other pieces, such as video, audio and photographic ones, yet not exhibited.

curator
natália quinderé

colaborators
coxas
Ana Pinto Basto
Gabriella
Gilkka Gy Delle
Katarina Hudacinová
Lamine Carvalho
Mariana Stoffel
Mãe
Nélia Martins
Paulo Morais
Robert Szabò

thanks to
Mafalda Sofia Rosário; Sergio Carronha; Tomas Roubal; Ana João Almeida; João Henrique; Tiago Fróis; Virgínia Fróis; Joaquim Pimentão; João Sofio; Rui Cacilhas; Pedro Grenha.

special thanks to
Oficinas do Convento

vermelhos #2

exhibition views at Zonamaco Cidade do Mexico. 2020