Review of The Fowler’s AXÉ BAHIA: THE POWER OF ART IN AN AFRO-BRAZILIAN METROPOLIS
December 1st - The Fowler Museum introduced their newest exhibition last month, and critics are raving about their most visually stunning display of the year. Axe Bahia: The Power of Art in Afro-Brazilian Metropolis highlights the cultural impact of the coastal city of Salvador, the capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia, a city that famously celebrates the intersection of African and Brazilian culture. The presentation showcases more than 100 works from the Bahia region during the 20th and 21st centuries, and the exhibit is currently the largest display of Bahian art in the US. Curated by Patrick Polk, Roberto Conduru, Sabrina Gledhill, and Randal Johnson, the experience is a commemoration to an artistic revel of Afro-Brazilian culture.
The exhibition educates viewers about the traditions and customs of Bahian life through various paintings, sculptures, and screenings. One display showcases “Jóias de crioula” or “Creole Jewelry” - pieces of hand-painted jewelry that enslaved females wore to exemplify the wealth of their slaveholders. Another piece about Turbante-se highlights the activist movement that studies Afro-Brazilian culture through the use of head wraps. The exhibition also features a video on the Cleansing of the House of Slaves in Gorée, revealing commoners participating in “sacudimento”: the ritualistic practice of using holy leaves to release bad energy.
The exhibit also features Pedro Marighelle’s MATA series; each story more riveting than the next, the series culminates in a final painting that pointedly depicts a crowd of people, some holding guns, chaotically celebrating in the streets as they establish “territorial control over public space”- a quote from the selection description.
The crown jewel of the Bahian exposition is the spray-painted mural by Eder Muniz, entitled A forca que habita em mim (The Force that Resides Within Me). Designed to portray the “tropical paradise” that is Bahia- with a fishlike crown and coruscating colors- the portrait purposely fails to illuminate the extent of the slavery and oppression that existed beneath the city’s handsome disguise.
The exhibit ultimately emphasizes Salvador’s position as a bustling and densely populated metropolis. The population’s makeup was highly diverse between the Brazilian and the Afro-Brazilian cultures, and neighborhoods were mainly divided based on religion. I learned these religious differences and racism fueled the violence that became quotidian in these neighborhoods, and the separation of living space characterized a harsh divide in Bahian culture. This show highlights the different mediums, messages, and techniques that fuse together to make this exhibit an impressive and immersive artistic experience. Now on display through April 15th, don’t miss the Fowler’s most engrossing exhibition to date - plus, UCLA students can experience it for free! Make sure you show your Bruin card at the door.