The Yanomami is one of South America’s largest Indigenous tribes. Their total population is around 45,000, with a territory covering an area twice the size of Switzerland. Since the 1970s, photographer Claudia Andujar (b. 1931) has devoted her life to documenting and defending the Yanomami. Equal parts artistic project and powerful political activism, Andujar’s huge – often experimental – catalogue of images is a reflection of the community’s culture, and a rallying call to protect it from threats.
Now, Andujar’s work is on view as part of Lightseekers, an exhibition at Bienal Fotografia do Porto. The display places her photography in dialogue with four other artists: Christo Geoghegan, Hoda Afshar, Pariacaca and SMITH. It has a particularly interesting framework, considering the “wet light” of creatives working amongst forest landscapes, and the “dry light” of those in deserts. The exhibition spans from West Asia to the Amazon, highlighting the key role of fine art photographers in raising awareness, disseminating knowledge and, ultimately, resisting erasure.
This thoughtful display is just one aspect of Bienal Fotografia do Porto. The event centres attention on actions that can be taken today to secure a better tomorrow, with Kathrin Stumreich’s Mid-air Collisions reflecting on the interaction between the environment and renewable energy sources, and Mónica de Miranda’s Depth of Field imagining alternative ways of living that are rooted in decolonisation and natural regeneration. The future is built on the present, and the creatives featured in Porto are steadfast in addressing the urgency of the current moment.
Lightseekers is at the Center of Photography, Porto until 29 July: cpf.pt
Image credits:
Claudia Andujar & A Luta Yanomami. Co-production: Instituto Moreira Salles / Hutukara Yanomami Association. Curated by Thyago Nogueira / IMS. Maloca near the Catholic mission on the Catrimani river, photograph by Claudia Andujar, Roraima, Brazil, 1976. Claudia Andujar Collection / Instituto Moreira Salles.
Claudia Andujar & A Luta Yanomami. Co-production: Instituto Moreira Salles / Hutukara Yanomami Association. Curated by Thyago Nogueira / IMS. Maloca near the Catholic mission on the Catrimani river, photograph by Claudia Andujar, Roraima, Brazil, 1976. Claudia Andujar Collection / Instituto Moreira Salles.
© Pariacaca,Huarochirí, Destruction Of Shadows And The Dawn Of Days.
