O CIO DA TERRA | ÓCIO DA TERRA

CYCLES OF FERTILITY AND PAUSE

Curated by Josué Mattos

In collaboration with The55Project

September 23 - November 11, 2023

Despite semantic similarities between “ócio” (Idleness) and “cio” (Estrus), two Portuguese words, they hold diametrically opposed meanings. Associated with the maternal dimension of the Earth, the differences that define them qualify all forms of life governed by cycles of fertility and pause. Since “cio” is the counterpart that complements and defines “ócio”, to disregard the integration of both would equate to separating birth from death and both from resurgence, as exemplified by the seeds that must “die in order to grow”, as Gilberto Gil sings in his song “Drão” (1982), devoted to the cycles of affection’s growth. Brazilian popular music is at the root of the exhibition-laboratory “O cio da terra | Ócio da terra” (The estrus of the Earth | Idleness of the Earth), where artists and farmers from different generations have been working together to combat the advancement of solutions that devastate biodiversity. The core of this project lies in the verses of the song from which it borrows its title, written and composed by Milton Nascimento and Chico Buarque. Indeed, “caressing the earth | knowing the desires of the earth” pluralizes how the nature-culture duo relates, echoing the idea that satisfying the Earth involves engaging with its desires, which equates to caring for the various forms of life that are born, die and are reborn within it.

With participation of:

Albano Afonso, Afonso Tostes, Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin De Burca, Bel Falleiros, Bené Fonteles, Brígida Baltar, Celeida Tostes, Cristiano Lenhardt, Efe Godoy, Efrain Almeida, Ernesto Neto, Elza Lima, Gustavo Caboco, Ivan Grilo, Jorgge Menna Barreto e Joelson Buggila, Juliana Lapa, Kamikia Kisêdjê, Laura Gorski, Lia Chaia, Lídia Lisbôa, Marcia Xavier, Mariana Berta, Mônica Ventura, Rafael RG, Renata Cruz, Rosana Paulino, Rose Afefé, Sallisa Rosa, Teresa Siewerdt.