\n<\/em>\u201c<\/span><\/i>Giving out your first work of art is no good\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The artist was born in Maloca do Jap\u00f3, a Macuxi village in the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Land (RR), in 1960 and moved to Boa Vista in the late 1980s in search of work. It was there that she met her husband, L\u00e9o Malabarista, a circus artist, with whom she began to attend cultural events in Roraima<\/p>\n\n In 1992, she visited her first art exhibition, which featured works by Eli\u00e9zer Rufino, brother of the poet<\/span>\u00a0Eliakin Rufino1<\/sup><\/a>.
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\nThere, she realized her desire to become a painter as well. It was Eliakin who presented her with a canvas and paints so that she could try them. In a statement to Roseli Anater<\/span>, Carm\u00e9zia said that she didn’t think of anything she wanted to paint, but inspired by a painting by Eli\u00e9zer depicting a buriti palm tree, she decided to paint one as well. She then offered painting \u201cVeado no buritizeiro\u201d to Eliakin, but he refused, saying that \u201cgiving out your first work of art is no good…\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n\n From then on, Carm\u00e9zia never stopped painting. Initially, as she had trouble buying paints, she produced her own from leaves, fruits, seeds and other elements of nature, as she explained in an interview:<\/p>\n\n \u201cI produced paint myself using green chili pepper leaves, purple cotton leaves, and annatto, which is called colorau, jenipapo brabo, coal, yellow potatoes, things that come from nature. I used to make these colors, I would crush the leaves and then I would draw on paper, not on canvas, because the canvas barely holds it (this paint). Then I painted on paper using these colors.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u00a0<\/span><\/i>In Carm\u00e9zia’s work, painting is an affirmation of Macuxi culture<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n Her themes come from Macuxi life and culture, which she paints so as not to forget, and to share with other people. In her words:
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\n\u201cMy story is beautiful, because I was born an observer, I grew up an observer. I was born in nature, I grew up doing things, I grew up in the community, in the forest, working in the countryside… I watched everything my mother did. (…) I depict these memories on canvas: making <\/span>beiju3<\/sup><\/a>, making caxiri4<\/sup><\/a>, grating cassava, weaving cotton, making hammocks.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The characteristics of her work place her as a notable representative of na\u00eff art in Brazil, a movement that uses bright and cheerful tones, simple forms and the idealization of nature, in contrast to more usual artistic techniques, such as perspective, conventional forms of composition and use of colors.
\n<\/p>\n\n The artist’s trajectory outside of the Roraima circles in the following decades is a reflection of the constant growth in the quality of her work, the appreciation of her style and indigenous art.
\n<\/p>\n\n Carm\u00e9zia was a constant presence at the Sesc Piracicaba Na\u00eff Biennial from 2006 to 2020, the year in which she received authentic recognition in the contemporary arts circuit. Since then, her works of art were exposed in major museums, exhibitions and galleries, such as MASP (S\u00e3o Paulo Museum of Art), S\u00e3o Paulo Biennial and Biennial of the Amazons in Bel\u00e9m (PA), as well as abroad. An experience that has given her the opportunity to visit other places, meet other artists and, most importantly, to show her culture.
\n<\/p>\n\n Carm\u00e9zia’s work inspires Concerta\u00e7\u00e3o’s digital channels<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n As of August 2024, Carm\u00e9zia brings into the Concertation’s visual identity inspiration from ten paintings: \u201cFazendo beiju\u201d, \u201cAraras\u201d, \u201cContando hist\u00f3rias\u201d, \u201cEstudando\u201d, \u201cFazendo panela\u201d, \u201cMoqueando peixe\u201d, \u201cMaloca do Cont\u00e3o\u201d, \u201cQuatis\u201d, \u201cWazak\u00e1\u201d and \u201cPescaria\u201d, made available by the Augusto Luitgards Collection. The artist spoke about some of them.
\n<\/p>\n\n ESTUDANDO (2022)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n In this work of art, which portrays a school, one can see a teacher teaching Portuguese and Macuxi. Emiliano says that ever since she was a child, she has never stopped speaking the language of her people, but her daughter cannot speak it, and many young people prefer to speak Portuguese. Therefore, around the school, she portrayed her grandparents teaching traditional knowledge, highlighting its relevance for the continuity of the Macuxi culture. These are activities such as making hammocks,<\/span>\u00a0tipiti5<\/sup><\/a>, braiding, shredding cotton, making arrows and clay pots.<\/span><\/p>\n\n MOQUEANDO PEIXE (2022)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n \u201cThis canvas shows the way we live. Because \u00a0we don’t have a shop to buy food, we don’t have money to buy nylon thread, we live off the land and fishing (…). When we go fishing, we take the<\/span>\u00a0jiqui6<\/sup><\/a>. Here, the men and boys are fishing and the women are “moqueando”<\/span> (roasting)7<\/sup><\/a> the fish.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n WAZAK\u00c1 (2022)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Founding myth of several indigenous peoples of the Amazon, Wazak\u00e1 is the name of the Tree of Life and the legend of the emergence of Mount Roraima. According to the story that Carm\u00e9zia’s uncle told her, brothers Ariqu\u00e9 and Esquir\u00e3 starved because they didn’t know where to find fruit. They had an agouti, and one day the little animal slept with its mouth open, revealing fruit remains between its teeth.
\n<\/p>\n\n The next day, Ariqu\u00e9 and Esquir\u00e3 followed the agouti and found this huge tree. As there was no fruit on the ground, they decided to cut it down to reach the ones that were higher up. The tree fell to the north and this is why there are many fruits in that region. From the sap that flowed down the trunk, the Ma\u00f4 river in Guyana, the Urariquera river in Venezuela and the Branco river in Brazil emerged. So, Ariqu\u00e9 and Esquir\u00e3 turned the tree trunk into a mountain, which is called Mount Roraima.<\/p>\n\n \u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u201cMy art takes me places I never thought I would go to\u201d<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Carm\u00e9zia’s wish now is to continue painting and display her work abroad. She has already exhibited in the United States, but he wants to take Macuxi culture even further.
\n<\/p>\n\n \u201cIf it weren\u2019t for my art, I wouldn\u2019t be able to see the world. I didn\u2019t expect to get to these places through my art, but I\u2019m very pleased, because it is very important for me to be able to show my culture to the entire world\u201d.
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