At the start of working in the space we
discussed the themes running through each of our current work and identified
that Camilla’s is the physical environment and mine the social
environment. Camilla’s paper-based
installations temporarily alter the physical space causing people to change the
way they move in the space thereby inviting them to re-look at familiar
places. My postcard ONE Project invites
individuals to reflect on their ideas about their personal and global community
by sharing experiences and hopes.
Camilla works a lot with discarded
newspaper and magazines, partly as a reflection of environment and partly as a
way of managing her hoarder-tendencies whilst travelling. After our conversation I was challenged to
confront my own inner-hoarder and went through the pile of magazines weighing
down my backpack, tearing out the few articles I want to keep for my sketchbook
and donating the rest to our materials pile. Good decision.
Thanks for the stimulus Camilla!
The first step in the space was sorting out
the wall that was covered in enormous charcoal-y letters. We washed it down, then as I painted it over
white(ish) Camilla got started with installing her organic Brazil-based shapes
from threads hung from hooks on the ceiling.
I created a wave shape filled with puzzle shapes where people would be
invited to share a little of their viewpoint.
I adapted the shaping of my puzzle pieces to reflect Camilla’s organic
forms, and was happy with the resulting biological cell-like impression they
took on.
Having a joint interest in transformation
Camilla and I knew we wanted to work with the idea of change in our
installation, and I was interested to use the opportunity of working in the Rio
context, now at the time of the protests, to explore the phrase which is
associated with Ghandi (although it has perhaps been condensed down over the
years of retelling): “Be the change that you want to see in the world”. The beauty of this phrase is that it brings
the responsibility of change to a personal level, and challenges the listener
to recognise that we each have an impact within our environment and
society.
It was tough deciding on the right phrasing
for a question to invite our visitors to the installation to share their
thoughts on change, Camilla and I were aware of the need to be very sensitive
in our tone. This is a critical time in
Brazilian politics, with huge crowds taking to the streets in protest at the
corruption ingrained in the system and Camilla and I were hearing passionate
debate about the issues in Brazil each day and seeing images of the protests,
fires and tear-gassing all over TV screens and newspapers. This context made us particularly interested
to hear from people what and how they believed things could change in Brazil
and how they believed that on a personal level they could themselves change
things. To ensure that we asked our
question in a curious and inviting way, not an arrogant or flippant way,
particularly because of being foreigners, we asked for the language help of
Leandro, Camilla’s friend and host, and after a lot of rephrasing eventually
got one that sounded right, simple and straightforward: “Que a sua mudança?” (“What is your
change?”)
We spent early Friday afternoon and a long
Saturday night installing the work and invited folk to the one-off show on
Sunday evening. Interestingly, many of
the most interesting conversations around change occurred on the Saturday night
as drinkers in the bar downstairs drifted upstairs to see what we were up to,
and added their comments to the wall and chatted with us. With a young crowd of mid 20’s to mid 30’s,
many of these drinkers had been involved in the protests, and all spoke
excitedly and passionately about the protests, saying this was a beautiful
moment for Brazil. Surprisingly although
almost everyone seems to say that this is a pivotal moment for Brazil, when
asked how they think the protests will come to an end, and if things will
change for Brazil, the majority seem to say no, they don’t believe anything
will change.
I’m sure that all you folk back in the UK
will have been seeing reports of the protests on the News, and I know I’ve had
a few messages asking about my safety.
What I would say as a foreigner here that has not been directly involved
in any way is that my impression of the atmosphere on the streets and amongst
Brazilians is not one of fear, but one of excitement and national pride. Although on the flip side of that I have
heard a few comments from Brazilians worried about fascism and the right wing
influence on a generally politically uninformed majority.
So the protests were sparked when a 20 percent
rise in transport fees motivated thousands to take to the streets in
outrage. Brazilians say they pay high taxes and the
supposedly public transport is already very expensive in Brazilian’s
opinion. Another recent factor that is
causing anger is the huge amount of cash being fed into football with the
current tournament and the upcoming World Cup, when the healthcare and
education systems are believed to be seriously under-funded.
As a democratic country Brazilians
obviously have the right to march and demonstrate, but what apparently took
many by surprise was the extreme force used by the police against the
crowds. The protests are in fact being
called the ‘Vinegar Protests’ because of the excessive amounts of tear gas that
the police have apparently been using – in self-protective measurements
demonstrators are carrying the antidote vinegar. Reports tell that one reporter was actually arrested just for carrying vinegar.
(left) "Carioca is..." [Carioca = a person from Rio - fill-in-the-blank graffitti stickers asking what a Rionian is] plus "more hate please" / (right) "more love for more love" "I love you" "Kindness affection and respect more nature" "more love please" "infinite love"
A lot of the info and local opinion I was
hearing about the demonstrations came from two particular people: Juliana, a
Brazilian student staying at the hostel I moved to in Ipanema when Rachel and
Lisa left and Felipe, a couch-surfer whose flat I stayed at for a couple of
nights last weekend. By the time I moved to his flat the transport fee had
already been reduced back to the previous price, but demonstrations were still
strong, and as Felipe said, they had become about a lot more than just the
fees, they were also about the corruption infiltrating Brazilian politics and
business and now the shock at the repression of the protests themselves. We watched President Dilma Rousseff’s make a
national announcement on the TV last Friday night and although she acknowledged
the democratic right to demonstrate, she spoke of the destruction by the
minority as not being tolerable and the police’s force, seen by many to be
over-brutal, as justified.
Despite their dissatisfaction, everyone I
have spoken to seems to believe that Dilma Rousseff is the only option for
Brazil as a President. As a youngster
she herself was a demonstrator against the then-dictatorship and was allegedly
imprisoned and tortured. Considering her
history many people now seem disappointed that she is heading a government seen
to also be corrupt, and I’ve hear many comments about her being a puppet,
although she is saying now that corruption will be tackled.
This is certainly an interesting time to be here in Brazil, and I will be keeping an eye on the developments to see what happens for the country over the coming weeks and months. I hope that any changes that are implemented affect genuine change and are not just pacifying gestures as some fear.
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