Gê Viana's Installation at São Paulo Biennial Explores Afro-Diasporic Culture

Artist Gê Viana presented her work 'A colheita de Dan' (The Harvest of Dan, 2025) at the Bienal de São Paulo. The installation is a monumental sound system, or radiola, painted in black, white, and red, featuring photomontage panels. These panels depict scenes of Black communities dancing at reggae parties, historical images of congás from the Afro-Indigenous religion Umbanda, and medicinal plants. The work plays Brazilian reggae and songs from Maranhão's quilombos on a continuous loop. Viana, who is from Maranhão, draws on her Afro-diasporic heritage and the region's syncretic culture, including the Tambor de Mina religion. The installation references the Dahomean vodun spirit Dan, often represented as a rainbow serpent, connecting to local mythology about a serpent beneath São Luís. The radiola was constructed by specialists in rural Maranhão and transported approximately 3,000 kilometers to São Paulo. Viana also creates analogue and digital collages, often incorporating archival photographs, such as those from the 1938 Missão de Pesquisas Folclóricas, to challenge historical narratives. Her film 'Radiola de Promessa' (2025), shown at Pinacoteca de São Paulo, documents the collective labor behind the sound systems. The work highlights the cultural connections between Maranhão and the Caribbean, particularly through reggae music, and emphasizes spaces of leisure and gathering for Black communities in Brazil.