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Lot Essay
'My narrative doesn't belong to any time or place, it is characterised by discontinuity. It's an interweaving of histories. Histories of bodies, of architecture, of Brazil, of tattoos, of ceramics, of old Portuguese azulejos or ordinary modern tiles, of maps, books, painting...' (A. Varejão quoted in H. Kelmachter, 'Echo Chamber', pp. 79-99, Adriana Varejão, Chambre d'échos/Echo Chamber, exh. cat., Paris, 2005, p. 81).
Adriana Varejão's Pele dates from 1996 and contains many of what have become the cornerstones of her idiosyncratic aesthetic: Baroque decorations, tiles and flesh. A Brazilian artist, Varejão explores a variety of themes in her works, often focussing on the legacy of colonialism in her nation. In Pele, this is made explicit by the references to the azulejos of Portugal, the predominantly blue-on-white decorative tiles that decorate so many buildings both there and in Brazil. In this picture, it appears that the tiled background painted by Varejão has been leeched of its Baroque blue decorations, which instead decorate the three human pieces of hide which adorn the wall like cannibalistic hunting trophies and which have lent the work its name. Each jutting out from the support, a relief that exposes the glistening flesh that has become one of Varejão's signatures, which invokes both violence and the celebrated Carnival of both her native Brazil and of the renowned philosopher and critic, Mikhail Bakhtin.
Varejão has presented the skin, which appears in two glove-like segments and one that recalls a human back as though they had been peeled from a victim, as though it had been tattooed with the decorations that would normally be associated with azulejos. They show Baroque constructions with several religious references, echoing the appearance of some of the centuries-old churches and cloisters in colonial Brazil as well as more modern buildings. This is an enduring tradition. This reference to the tattooed skin was made more explicit in the title of a work from the previous year that explored a similar motif, entitled Pele Tatuada à Moda de Azulejaria, or 'Skin Tattooed in the Style of Tiling'. In both works, the tattoo, which during the colonial era was often associated with tribal cultures, has taken on the visual language of the occupying power, hinting at the mysterious process of cultural exchange which is the foundation of colonisation.
Varejão, who has painted the blood dripping from the hides, implies some of the grimmer and more problematic aspects of colonisation and even implicates the Church, yet also accepts the complexities of the past. It was, after all, this legacy that resulted in the vibrant nation that is modern-day Brazil. Looking at Pele, the viewer wonders whether it is the skin of the occupier or of the occupied that has been hung on this wall: there is a deliberate ambiguity as Varejão blurs the lines, not least by invoking the beauty of the Baroque, often considered the first 'global' style because of its presence in the Americas, Africa and Asia alike during the time of European colonial expansion. This ambiguity reflects the cultural cannibalism, a two-way street, that has resulted in Brazil's rich culture and which underpins Varejão's greatest works.
As well as commenting on colonial issues, the presence of these trophy-like chunks of flesh on the wall in Pele imply that art itself is a trophy, throwing under the spotlight the entire concept of exposure and the dynamics of both exhibiting one's work, and of having it collected. In this sense, the beautifully-rendered patterns on the 'skin' in this picture indicate how profound the link can be between an artist and her work. Pele makes this bond all the more visceral through the artist's incredible detailing of the flesh, showing the truth of her declaration that, 'Painting is my root, just as Brazil is' (A. Varejão, quoted in L. Neri, 'Brave New World: Adriana Varejãos Baroque Territories', pp. 13-21, L. Neri (ed.), Adriana Varejão, exh. cat., Brasilia, 2001, p. 14).
Adriana Varejão's Pele dates from 1996 and contains many of what have become the cornerstones of her idiosyncratic aesthetic: Baroque decorations, tiles and flesh. A Brazilian artist, Varejão explores a variety of themes in her works, often focussing on the legacy of colonialism in her nation. In Pele, this is made explicit by the references to the azulejos of Portugal, the predominantly blue-on-white decorative tiles that decorate so many buildings both there and in Brazil. In this picture, it appears that the tiled background painted by Varejão has been leeched of its Baroque blue decorations, which instead decorate the three human pieces of hide which adorn the wall like cannibalistic hunting trophies and which have lent the work its name. Each jutting out from the support, a relief that exposes the glistening flesh that has become one of Varejão's signatures, which invokes both violence and the celebrated Carnival of both her native Brazil and of the renowned philosopher and critic, Mikhail Bakhtin.
Varejão has presented the skin, which appears in two glove-like segments and one that recalls a human back as though they had been peeled from a victim, as though it had been tattooed with the decorations that would normally be associated with azulejos. They show Baroque constructions with several religious references, echoing the appearance of some of the centuries-old churches and cloisters in colonial Brazil as well as more modern buildings. This is an enduring tradition. This reference to the tattooed skin was made more explicit in the title of a work from the previous year that explored a similar motif, entitled Pele Tatuada à Moda de Azulejaria, or 'Skin Tattooed in the Style of Tiling'. In both works, the tattoo, which during the colonial era was often associated with tribal cultures, has taken on the visual language of the occupying power, hinting at the mysterious process of cultural exchange which is the foundation of colonisation.
Varejão, who has painted the blood dripping from the hides, implies some of the grimmer and more problematic aspects of colonisation and even implicates the Church, yet also accepts the complexities of the past. It was, after all, this legacy that resulted in the vibrant nation that is modern-day Brazil. Looking at Pele, the viewer wonders whether it is the skin of the occupier or of the occupied that has been hung on this wall: there is a deliberate ambiguity as Varejão blurs the lines, not least by invoking the beauty of the Baroque, often considered the first 'global' style because of its presence in the Americas, Africa and Asia alike during the time of European colonial expansion. This ambiguity reflects the cultural cannibalism, a two-way street, that has resulted in Brazil's rich culture and which underpins Varejão's greatest works.
As well as commenting on colonial issues, the presence of these trophy-like chunks of flesh on the wall in Pele imply that art itself is a trophy, throwing under the spotlight the entire concept of exposure and the dynamics of both exhibiting one's work, and of having it collected. In this sense, the beautifully-rendered patterns on the 'skin' in this picture indicate how profound the link can be between an artist and her work. Pele makes this bond all the more visceral through the artist's incredible detailing of the flesh, showing the truth of her declaration that, 'Painting is my root, just as Brazil is' (A. Varejão, quoted in L. Neri, 'Brave New World: Adriana Varejãos Baroque Territories', pp. 13-21, L. Neri (ed.), Adriana Varejão, exh. cat., Brasilia, 2001, p. 14).