Rosana Paulino on Reading Black Artists in Brazil

Rosana Paulino's essay, published by Afterall on April 14, 2021, examines the challenges of reading contemporary Black/African-Brazilian art. Originally part of ArtSchool's Decolonisation in the 2020s series in partnership with Museu de Arte de São Paulo, UAL's Decolonising Arts Institute, and Goldsmiths Department of Visual Cultures, Paulino argues that non-comprehension of these works' specificities risks ghettoizing them. She emphasizes the need to consider materiality and content, citing artist Ayrson Heráclito, whose use of food like beef jerky and palm oil in works connected to Candomblé reflects Brazil's history and Black knowledge systems. Paulino criticizes Europeanized art criticism, referencing an anecdote where a professor dismissed a student's project rooted in ancestral knowledge. She cites curator Fabiana Lopes on 'interpretation keys' to understand silencing of Black art, and artist Paulo Nazareth on the colonized eye. Paulino calls for curators and critics to update their methods, recognizing multiple epistemologies and integrating Black/African-Brazilian art into mainstream exhibitions rather than limiting it to thematic shows.