In Recife, Jonathas de Andrade takes the world to task for its impending ecological collapse

On a warm August day in 2012, in the historical center of Recife, Brazil, a race between 40 chariots took place, convened via word of mouth and distribution of flyers. The horses took off, scratching the asphalt, the charioteers careening through the empty streets of the city on a vibrant, anarchic rampage. Since livestock movement is forbidden in Recife,­ this extraordinary occurrence was only possible due to it masquerading as a movie shoot.

A year later, in Jordan, random people were approached on the streets and asked to cast Jesus as a non-Western figure by selecting from 20 photographs that had been randomly taken of men in Amman.

Both performances were instigated by the Brazilian artist Jonathas de Andrade, titled O Levante (The Uprising) and Procurando Jesus (Looking for Jesus) respectively. De Andrade is known for his ambitious projects that combine conceptual muscle with social investigation. Through a practice employing various tools and mediums, his work unfolds from the intersections between language, politics, and spirituality to articulate and elaborate on complex local narratives. However, if on the one hand they speak to specific social or geographical contexts (mostly sections of Brazil’s northeast), on the other they seek to address fundamental human issues. De Andrade deconstructs social imagery to play with its powers and contradictions. 

‘I’ve always believed in the universality of my work, and that the exoticized image of Brazil, of South America, could be something to be harnessed to talk about universal subjects,’ he says. ‘Referencing some of the stereotypical aspects of Brazil, such as tropicality and sexuality, enables the audience to relax and let their guard down in the face of a tale being told about a tropical land far, far away. And while they are letting their guard down, this same audience might be taken by surprise by some questions lying right there, like contradictions of the soul itself.’

In general, de Andrade’s pieces are developed through extensive, complex processes of research, negotiation, production, and formalization, and often involve many of his different personae: ethnographer, chronicler, essayist, photographer, filmmaker, and designer, among others. Piece by piece, the artist synthesizes social criticism and careful aesthetic experiments, aiming to spark reflection and to enable multifarious understandings in place of singular interpretations. In those times when we watch the rise of authoritarian movements and the resurgence of ideological patrolling, his projects center on keen ambivalences. ‘I try to deal with the art field as a place of complexity, plurality, which embraces ambiguity, and as a productive field to urge reactions and stipulate debates. I’ve always embraced ambiguity as a strategy, and I think the best projects are those that are disturbing in this sense. I find it a lot more productive to create a challenging program,’ says de Andrade.

In 2016, during the 32nd São Paulo Biennial, ‘Live Uncertainty’, which took place during the climax of political tensions in Brazil, de Andrade showed O peixe (The fish) for the first time, a 16 mm film made with fishermen from Piaçabuçu and Coruripe, at the mouth of the São Francisco river. Each of the fishermen stages the act of hugging the animal as part of a possible performative ritual, manifest in the act of embracing their prey in a careful caress, until they die in the arms of their tormentors. The film is a visual essay that stands out for its aesthetic rigor, but it actually builds on a deep provocation. If on the surface the amiable handling gesture is paramount – even erotic, with the chiseled male torsos displayed in a moment of tenderness –there is also the human figure represented in its most nature-bound condition, the primitive predator. As de Andrade notes, ‘The fish is about the collapse of the relationship between man and nature, but also about working, surviving. And it’s about a village that lives in harmony with the environment, asking permission. Nonetheless, it is a fatal hug, one of domination. In terms of the Anthropocene, it becomes a metaphor for the total failure to limit exploitation, the normalization of killing, unbounded consumerism, self-serving environmental devastation. But the image could also be read as a simple idea of surviving on this planet.’

Next to a wide array of energetic pieces that ranged from a colossal installation by the French artist Pierre Huyghe to a plangent production by the artist collective Vídeo nas Aldeias – which focused on issues key to native peoples and on the education of indigenous filmmakers – de Andrade’s piece appeared to be the perfect reflection of the biennial. The show itself specifically sought to work with varied world perspectives, opening up the stage for debate while continuously embracing uncertainty as its guidance system in the face of the great issues of our times: global warming, radical reductions of biodiversity, economic and political instability, social inequalities, migration flows.

Following his expansive solo show at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, which concluded in August, de Andrade is currently participating in the biennials of Montreal and Istanbul, in which he is showing the very film that stood out in São Paulo. During Art Basel Miami Beach, the audience will have access to the large-scale installation ‘Eu, mestiço / Me, mestizo’, from 2017, which will be on display at El Espacio 23/Jorge Pérez Collection, and to other pieces at Galleria Continua’s booth. These will be new opportunities to experience the effects of his provocative and inexhaustible propositions.

Vivian Gandelsman is an independent contemporary art researcher and the cofounder of Artload and Timetorethink (artload.com; timetorethink.art).

Germano Dushá is a writer, curator, critic, and cultural producer based in São Paulo. He works mainly on independent art projects and curatorial experiments, and is the cofounder of Fora (ofora.org).

Jonathas de Andrade is represented by Alexander and Bonin, New York; Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Beijing, Boissy-le-Châtel, Havana, Paris, Rome, São Paulo; and Nara Roesler, São Paulo, New York, Rio de Janeiro.

Top image: Jonathas de Andrade, photographed in Recife by Helena Wolfenson for Art Basel.