Sallisa Rosa's 'Muitos nomes' Explores Oral Traditions and Ephemerality at São Paulo Bienal

Sallisa Rosa's installation 'Muitos nomes' draws from childhood stories heard across Brazil about a vine that disorients walkers in the forest. The work, featured in the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, incorporates over eleven names for this vine, such as cipó jiboia and cipó de caipora, collected from oral traditions. Rosa uses branches from tree prunings in São Paulo, noting their unpredictable, sculptural forms compared to processed wood. The installation spans more than ten meters in diameter and includes broken branches that mark a return path, symbolizing coexistence between losing and finding one's way. After its initial display, parts were returned to Parque Ibirapuera as sawdust, while other components traveled to a touring exhibition at the Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Goiás in Goiânia. Rosa highlights the piece's focus on cycles and impermanence, contrasting it with art made for eternity. The title reflects untranslatable oral knowledge, allowing for multiple interpretations. The artist developed a new relationship with Parque Ibirapuera, whose name means 'rotten wood,' through sourcing materials locally. Documentation shows the work's installation and remounting, with credits to photographers Natt Fejfar, João Medeiros, Fe Avila, and Paulo Rezende.