Giselle Beiguelman and Ilê Sartuzi explore colonial legacy in São Paulo mansion video

Artists Giselle Beiguelman and Ilê Sartuzi present 'Nhonhô', a nine-minute video work on Videobrasil Online until April 18. The piece investigates the Casarão de Nhonhô Magalhães, a 1920s-1930s mansion in São Paulo's Higienópolis neighborhood built for coffee baron Carlos Leôncio de Magalhães (1875-1931). Using photogrammetry, 3D modeling, AI colorization, and algorithmic sound, the video creates a tense, ghostly atmosphere without human bodies or voices. The artists explicitly address the colonial power dynamics embedded in the term 'nhonhô', historically used by enslaved people to address white masters. Technological gaps in the photogrammetry process mirror historical information voids, as the artists lacked full access to the mansion. AI colorization produced a paradoxical 'European tonal quality', intentionally maintained to reflect elite aspirations. The mansion's subsequent history includes public ownership, heritage listing, a 2005 auction to Shopping Higienópolis, and current cultural use by Paço das Artes since 2020.