Rebeca Carapiá on Aerial Roots and the 36th São Paulo Biennial

Rebeca Carapiá presents "Como criar raízes aéreas" at the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, a sculptural installation inspired by the paxiúba palm tree. After an eight-day immersion at the Tupana River in the Amazon, she created iron sculptures that evoke the tree's aerial roots, emphasizing movement, instability, and collective making. The work reflects her relocation from Salvador to São Paulo and her engagement with water as a force of both serenity and revolt. Carapiá, who comes from a railway suburb of Salvador, uses iron as a material tied to her personal history. The installation is designed to be reconfigured in different venues, including a subsequent iteration at Sesc Santos. The artist describes the shadows cast by the works as a multiplication of languages, adding abstraction to the three-dimensional forms. The project poses the question: "Is it possible for us to create aerial roots?"