Ka’a Pûera: we are walking birds

Artists

Tupinambá Community of Serra do Padeiro and Olivença, Glicéria Tupinambá, Olinda Tupinambá, Ziel Karapotó

Press release

National Participation - Brazil

The Hãhãwpuá Pavilion—as the Brazilian Pavilion is referred to in this edition of the Biennale—presents Ka’a Pûera: we are walking birds, curated by Arissana Pataxó, Denilson Baniwa, and Gustavo Caboco Wapichana. The title alludes to two interconnected interpretations. Firstly, it refers to areas of cropland which, after being harvested, become dormant, and low-lying vegetation emerges, revealing the potential for resurgence. In addition, the capoeira is also known by the Tupinambá as a small bird that lives in dense forests, camouflaging itself in the environment. In this edition of the Biennale, the Hãhãwpuá Pavilion is notable for its presentation of native peoples and their artistic production, especially the resistance of the knowledge and practices of coastal inhabitants. The exhibition addresses issues of marginalization, dispossession, and rights violations, inviting reflection on resistance and the shared essence of humanity, birds, memory, and nature.

“The show brings together the Tupinambá Community and artists coming from the coastal peoples—the first to be transformed into foreigners in their own Hãhãw (ancestral territory)—in order to express a different perspective on the vast territory where more than three hundred indigenous peoples live (Hãhãwpuá). The Hãhãwpuá Pavilion tells a story of indigenous resistance in Brazil, the strength of the body present in the retaking of territory and adaptation to climatic emergencies,” say the curators.

Commissioner: Andrea Pinheiro, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo
Curators: Arissana Pataxó, Denilson Baniwa and Gustavo Caboco Wapichana