Carlos Mélo | Belo Jardim Residence
04/19/2018 — 06/30/2018
Espaço Oco e Sesc Belo Jardim, Pernambuco
The Belo Jardim Residence is an annual project organized by the Conceição Moura Institute, under the curatorship of Cristiana Tejo and Kiki Mazzucchelli, and produced by Automática. The Residency invites one artist each year to submit proposals which engage with the cultural, economic, political and social dynamics of the agreste semi-arid region of Pernambuco. In 2018, the Belo Jardim project resumed with the participation of the artist, Carlos Mélo (Riacho das Almas, PE, 1969).
The project developed by Carlos Mélo focused on the quilombola fugitive slave community of Barro Branco, and its struggle for official recognition of ownership of the territory where it has been established for years, on the outskirts of Belo Jardim. The artist’s immersion in the locale shaped the production of the medium-length film Barro Oco, produced from a sensitive perspective of the community as a generator of processes for recovering subjectivity.
In addition to the audiovisual work, the artist inaugurated the Espaço Oco, inside the Fábrica Mariola factory – a cultural space associated with the Conceição Moura Institute. During the period of the residency, the Espaço Oco functioned as a centre for promoting discussions and contact with the people of the city, stimulated by events and performances by the artist and guests.
With the aim of contextualizing the work of Carlos Mélo, an exhibition was also held at Sesc Belo Jardim. The works selected were produced over the last fifteen years, and encompassed images and themes that recur throughout the artist’s career.
Credits
Automatica has been developing cultural projects since 2005, working in the creation, production, curation, management, coordination and consultancy of exhibitions, educational programs, publications and other activities related to artistic production. It works with artists, curators, art critics, art historians, cultural institutions, public and private sponsors. It participates in public notices and awards, and prepares projects for incentive laws in the three spheres of public administration.
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