..AND THE TREES WILL SPEAK AGAIN / AS ÁRVORES VOLTARÃO A FALAR (2016)

..And The Trees Will Speak Again narrates, in 20 processed photographic works and one video installation (02’28”), the peace and the tension during the last moments of the indigenous occupation called Aldeia Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, an occupation that started in 2006 and came to an end in 2013 when the urban military troops stormed the community. Elaborated on industrialized wood instead of photographic paper, the essay wants to invite the viewer for a broader reflection on indigenous resistance, one that goes beyond the discussion about legitimacy and goes in search of the roots of the outcry of the indigenous community of Brazil, facing deforestation and persecution in an ongoing war for territory against the major commercial enterprises in the country. (* nominated for the Social Art Award 2017)

20 photogravures on industrialised wood (30x45cm)

Keywords: indigenous resistance, clearcutting, land rights, demarcation, decolonization.

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On the geographical spread. This visual essay exists in two versions: one version ‘..And The Trees Will Speak Again’, made in the Northern hemisphere on industrialised wood from the Northern hemisphere; and the other version ‘..As Árvores Voltarão A Falar’ (Portuguese translation of the previous), made in the Southern hemisphere on industrialised wood from the Southern hemisphere. Each version remains on its side of the equator.

This essay was made in the context of a field research project funded by The Pascal Decroos Fund.