Luiz Braga's 'Máscara, espelho e escudo' exhibition at Instituto Tomie Ohtake explores photography as ritual

Luiz Braga's exhibition 'Máscara, espelho e escudo' at Instituto Tomie Ohtake in São Paulo presents a series of color portraits created over four decades. The Belém-born photographer transforms everyday scenes into allegorical images, elevating his subjects to an immaterial plane. His meticulous process involves taming colors and lights before opening himself to chance encounters with people in ports, boats, streets, rivers, and homes. The exhibition design creates a labyrinth of wooden planes where photographs are displayed individually, resembling the perception of a forest. Curatorial texts by Paulo Miyada and Priscyla Gomes draw parallels between Braga's work and that of Pierre Verger, whose exhibition runs simultaneously at the same institution. Braga's photography engages with Paraense transcultural heritage, incorporating indigenous ritual masks, mirrors used in colonial seduction narratives, and shields that become targets rather than protection. The exhibition highlights the cultural plurality of the Paraense region while addressing political inequalities and aesthetic stigmas attached to its artistic production.