On display at Central Galeria, in São Paulo, the exhibition “At present, life (is) political” brings together 10 artists and 24 works selected by curator Diego Matos, who seeks in the contemporary thought of philosopher and activist Franco Berardi, inspiration to reflect on the collective experience and the social body in a context of permanent crisis in which we are immersed.
One of the highlights of the show is our represented artist Rafael Pagatini, who presents two works.
In “Bandeirantes” (2018), the artist printed details of photos of the inauguration of Rodovia dos Bandeirantes (in 1978) on the face of open archive boxes, known in Brazil as the “dead archive”. The work proposes a look at the photography, the event and the construction of the highway, which, as its name implies, is associated with the authoritarian and colonizing imagery of the “Bandeirantes”, known as violent explorers of the land back in the colonial period. In addition, the title of the work seeks an association with “Operation Bandeirantes”, which had the participation of members that attended the event, revealing the relations between militarism, businessmen and politicians in the Brazilian dictatorship (1964-1985).
Also in the show, “Protocol” (2017-2020), comes up from cataloging the image of stamps in reports, inquiries, investigations and other documents of the Department of Political and Social Order – the infamous DOPS – which were collected in the Public Archive of the State of São Paulo for this updated version of the work.
The exhibition continues until 21.11 and visits are by appointment only (Mo – Fri, 11 am – 7 pm and Sat, 11 am – 5 pm).
More information on the gallery’s website at: www.centralgaleria.com
To learn more about artist Rafael Pagatini and his practice, click here.