Arquiero Digital

Denilson Baniwa, Baniwa, born 1984

Arquiero Digital, 2017

This piece is based on an 1834 engraving made by Jean-Baptiste Debret, and so is fundamentally art of reclamation: This piece is an indigenous artist taking something that was originally created by colonizers to exoticize the people of the Amazon region and turning it into a representation of indigenous agency. The symbol of a digital symbol can be taken as representing the overall trend of new media in indigenous campaigns for greater sovereignty and environmental safety from deforestation and extractivism, and its position superimposed over a weapon indicates the artist’s belief in the strength of new media to protect the rainforest environment and traditional land relations, which may themselves be represented by the indigenous subject’s hunting. Label by Frank Kennedy

Azougue 80

Denilson Baniwa, Baniwan, born 1984

Azougue 80, 2019

Azougue 80 is a short video piece of art by Denilson Baniwa, who is an indigenous artist from the village of Darí (in Rio-Negro). His work centers around the idea that art is an important form of expression and communication of political protests and environmental justice work. In this work, he sits at a table with artificial fishing lures and a glass of mercury (where the title “azougue 80” comes from), and he begins eating and spitting them out. In the background, there is a recording of Jair Bolsonaro discussing the benefits of gold mining. The disturbing piece is referencing the contamination that has occurred in indigenous areas due to Bolsonaro’s decisions regarding mining in the Amazon area, and it demonstrates the health hazards and life-altering impacts these destructive actions cause for native peoples. Label by Maeve Marsh