FEEDING our hunger for high-culture seems to be more important now than ever. But how to do it? Locked up inside, and distracted by a myriad of Zoom-enabled cocktail parties and games nights, I’m quite frankly exhausted and need something different. Then, at a recent virtual brunch, a friend suggested I take myself off to an exhibition … virtually.
There’s nothing more enjoyable to me than visiting an art gallery. Understandably, the last few months have been devoid of such pleasures, but with the rise of virtual exhibitions I decided to check some out.
The first in my journey of cultural treats is the Fondation Cartier’s latest exhibition devoted to the work of celebrated Brazilian photographer and activist Claudia Andujar.
Antônio Korihana. A young man under the effect of the hallucinogen yãkoana,
Catrimani, Roraima, 1972–76. Photograph: Claudia Andujar
Collective house surrounded by sweet-potato leaves, infrared film, Catrimani, Roraima, 1976. Photograph: Claudia Andujar
The young Susi Korihana swimming, infrared film, Catrimani, Roraima, 1972–74.
Photograph: Claudia Andujar
Journey by pirogue, Catrimani, Roraima, 1974. Photograph: Claudia Andujar
Curated by Thyago Nogueira, Head of the Contemporary Photography Department at Instituto Moreira Salles, Brazil, with the support of Valentina Tong, Leanne Sacramone and Juliette Lecorne, the exhibition is a retrospective marking the long-standing relationship between the photographer and Fondation Cartier.
Adolescent with vulture or hawk feathers, Upper Catrimani, Roraima, 1976.
Photograph: Claudia Andujar
Self-portrait in Catrimani, Roraima State, 1974 © Claudia Andujar.
Courtesy Instituto Moreira Salles. Photograph: Claudia Andujar
This exhibition was originally scheduled from 30 January to 31 May, in Paris, but is now open to all online via the Fondation Cartier microsite.
This exhibition promised to be intellectually stimulating, so despite the unseasonably warm weather in London. I proceeded to walk to my garden, unlock my iPhone and head straight for the Fondation Cartier site. The exhibition is immediately captivating. Not least because the Yanomami people, who are at the centre of this body of work who believe that photography capture a part of the soul and therefore prefer not to be photographed.
Andujar says, “They have this fear, this suspicion of the camera. I only took pictures of Yanomami who got to know me first, when they knew why I was there. After a while they trusted me and would take no notice of the camera.”
The forest, infrared film, Catrimani, Roraima,1972–76. Photograph: Claudia Andujar
The site mirrors the curatorial organisation of the physical exhibition, divided into three sections: From Europe To Brazil; Interpreting Yanomami Culture and From Art To Activism.
The exhibition is a delight. Guided through by excellent narration which is punctuated with audio extracts and video footage, which keeps the experience fluid and alive.
Naturally, the photography is exquisite, but what makes this exhibition so compelling is the decades Andujar has dedicated to building a relationship with the Yanomami community, and then using her platform to communicate their plight by way of powerful and captivating art.
This exhibition closes at the end of May, so there’s plenty of time to get in the spirit of things and divert yourself for a moment from the new normal of varying states of lockdown. My suggestion is to dress up, drink something cold, and enjoy it alone or with friends.
by Alexis Williams