Denilson Baniwa's 'Moqueca de Maridos' Confronts Colonial Trauma and Indigenous Eroticism at A Gentil Carioca

Denilson Baniwa presents 'Moqueca de Maridos' at A Gentil Carioca's São Paulo outpost, a show drawing its title from Beth Mindlin's book of indigenous erotic myths. The activist artist, who also works in advertising and digital culture, examines the destructive legacy of Catholic catechism on indigenous communities. Baniwa details the forced internment of children, including his own parents and grandparents, in institutions that suppressed native languages and identities. He links this historical abuse to the repression of sexual freedom and the creation of trauma. The exhibition includes works exploring ancestral mythologies, such as a legend about a turtle's failed journey to heaven, which Baniwa uses to critique the church's promise of a celestial redemption that enslaves indigenous thought. Curated by anthropologist and filmmaker Carlos Fausto, the show employs humor and sensuality to address these heavy themes, featuring imagery that mixes people and animals in sexual and cannibalistic acts. The gallery's São Paulo space, opened a year and a half ago in a charming dead-end alley in Higienópolis, hosts this politically charged body of work.