FARSA Exhibition at Sesc Pompeia Explores Portuguese Language as Colonial Tool and Liberation Vector

Curated by Marta Mestre and Pollyana Quintella, the exhibition 'FARSA. Língua, fratura, ficção: Brasil-Portugal' is on view at Sesc Pompeia in São Paulo until January 30, 2021. The show juxtaposes experimental proposals from the 1960s and 1970s with works by artists emerging in the 21st century from Brazil and Portugal. It emphasizes language's power and deconstruction strategies within countries sharing a tongue that served simultaneously as an instrument of oppression and a vector for freedom. Quintella states the exhibition actively deconstructs the myth of Lusophony, asserting the existence of many Portuguese languages. The curators view Portuguese as a contested, multiple, and ambiguous idiom, carrying both a colonizing character and the possibility of constructing new worlds. FARSA extends beyond spoken language to include bodily, silent, noisy, and secret languages that resist colonial monoculture. The exhibition also considers how digital presence inflects contemporary understandings of language. Visitor safety protocols include mandatory mask-wearing and temperature checks at the entrance due to the coronavirus pandemic.