The work O som deles (2017–) is a mutable, growing structure of paintings in ceramic tiles addressing queer histories in its fragmented configurations. The work’s first iteration was commissioned by the Schwulesmuseum* in Berlin in 2017, followed by a second iteration of the work in Johannesburg in 2018 and a third one to happen in Geneva at Espace 3353 in Fall 2020. The work looks at different stories that regards the queer body from a de-colonial perspective: In 2017, the first tile panels were based on the story of Tibira do Maranhão, found in the archives of the Schwulesmuseum* in Berlin. It’s the story of an indigenous man from the Tupinambá people that according to the diary of a French priest, was executed in Brazilian territory in the beginning of the 17th century for showing non-normative gender behaviour. The scene from the book is reconstructed using fragments of paintings from the time drawn from multiple sources, presenting a visual echo chamber.

The work’s second iteration is based on the first major Brazilian novel with a homosexual romance narrative – ‘Bom Crioulo’ by Adolfo Caminha from 1895, which tells the love story between a former slave and another man at the navy. The book was also one of the first Brazilian novels with a black leading character.

For the Bienalsur I intend to develop this work further adding a new story to the piece (tbd) in conjunction with a sound piece. All the panels of the series will be hanged in conjunction as an echo chamber.