anahupe

Em sua nova individual, "Do Céu e da Pedra", em cartaz até o dia 06.09, a artista Ana Hupe apresenta obras da série "Encruzilhadas Transatlânticas" como uma instalação imersiva no 3º andar da galeria. Como seres fantasmagóricos, objetos pertencentes a povos da América do Sul e da África Ocidental são estampados em tecidos azuis índigo e dispostos como estandartes, junto a telas e objetos-livro. Mantidos em museus alemães e portadores de histórias de encontros e violências, estes objetos capturados ganham uma sobrevida em estampas têxteis como uma forma de operar, segundo a artista, uma "poética da restituição": seu desejo é conseguir inseri–los na indústria têxtil local da África Ocidental para que possam ser reapropriados e comprados pelo povo. Atualmente participando da II Biennale Ouidah, no Benin, Hupe vem ampliando sua pesquisa em torno das práticas artesanais de tingimento índigo, em parceria com a estilista Nadia Adanlé. Neste sábado, a galeria funciona das 11h às 17h. Esperamos sua visita! ✨ Catálogo completo: link na bio. -- In her new solo show, ‘Dreaming Dashes’, on view until 6 Sep, artist Ana Hupe presents works from her series ‘Transatlantic Crossroads' as an immersive installation on the gallery's 3rd floor. Like phantasmagoric beings, objects belonging to peoples from South America and Western Africa are printed onto indigo blue fabrics and arranged like banners alongside canvases and book objects. Kept in German museums, these seized objects are given a new lease on life as textile prints, as a way to operate a poetics of restitution, as stated by the artist: she hopes to be able to insert them into local West African textile industries so they can be reappropriated and bought by the people. Currently taking part in the 2nd Ouidah Biennale in Benin, Hupe has been expanding her research into the artisanal practices of indigo dyeing in partnership with fashion designer Nadia Adanlé. This Saturday, the gallery is open from 11 am – 5 pm. Come along and visit us! ✨ PDF catalogue: link in bio. --- Curadoria [ Curated by ] @juli_gontijo 📷 @pedr_vict_r

I’m saying goodbye from afar to Slash-and-Burn, that runs until Sunday, 19.10, in London. ✨ Thank you, @ceciliavilela for this great and fullfilling exchange of ideas, emotions and hard work.

Letters to the Seers [Cartas às Videntes], 2025 12 photograms The title of this series, ‘Letters to the Seers’, is inspired by André Breton’s 1925 text ‘Lettre aux voyantes’. It is a tribute to the seers who, like poets, preserve the revelatory, confuse the consumable fact with the consummate fact, and keep at our disposal the assurance of absolute possibility. Seers calculate by groping, with results that, arbitrary or not, are always grand. Each photogram is unique because they are both matrix and the photograph at the same time. The light-sensitive photographic paper turns black when exposed to light, while the covered part remains white. It is through resistance that these images are formed. This technique has been used by artists associated with Surrealism, such as Man Ray and László Moholy-Nagy. These Letters to the Seers were composed using portraits by photographer Alfred Stieglitz (NYC, 1864–1946) from the beginning of the 20th century (1903 - 1917) featuring many silhouettes of his female muses, as well as three books I found in the streets of Berlin. These books featured reproductions of Baroque and Renaissance paintings, from a time when images were still printed as postcards and pasted into the publication.

Aqui um poema recente que vou ler amanhã, terça, 05.05, na @hausfuerpoesie , Berlim. O disparador foram os cartazes gigantescos espalhados pela cidade fazendo propaganda para as pessoas se alistarem no exército alemão. É também uma homenagem à maravilhosa poeta @aaangelicaffffreitas , pensando na sua mulher boa, porque é uma mulher limpa.
 [A leitura será em português com tradução para o alemão, junto com o poeta português Frederico Pedreira, Trio Fado e moderação de Timo Berger] /de/programm/welttag-der-portugiesischen-sprache-2026 … Here is a recent poem that I will read tomorrow, Tuesday, 05/05, at @hausfuerpoesie , Berlin.
The trigger was the gigantic posters scattered around the city advertising for people to enlist in the German army.
It is also a tribute to the wonderful poet Angélica Freitas @aaangelicaffffreitas , thinking of her “good woman,” because she is a clean woman. [The reading will be in Portuguese with German translation, together with the Portuguese poet Frederico Pedreira, Trio Fado, and moderated by Timo Berger]

Sobradinho Dam (Barragem do Sobradinho), Bahia The last wild european rivers are in a region called “The Blue Heart of Europe,” in Eastern Europe. Some of these flow through Albania — I learned this while listening to a group of artists from there at the symposium “Songs of Serpents” @akademiederkuenste . Just imagine: apart from the ones at the blue heart region, all rivers in Europe are domesticated! It’s a development model that reverberates around the world. It reminded me of the Sobradinho Dam in the sertão (backlands) of Bahia, an immense structure built in 1974, which created the largest water reservoir in Brazil and is celebrated as the “Largest artificial lake in Latin America.” The dam turned the São Francisco River into its pet, wiping out fish species, displacing populations, degrading the soil — local losses in the name of national progress. Even so, the São Francisco River continues to shine. The trip to the dam was in the inspiring company of the artist @sarahhallelujah Thank you @ifa.visualarts for the research trip

São Francisco River Some say the São Francisco River, the third longest in Brazil, is no longer wild.
It’s true that it has been heavily tamed by the construction of hydroelectric plants and the Sobradinho Dam (BA), built during the dictatorship in 1974, which created one of the largest reservoirs in the world. The fishermen themselves say the river is dying, as they notice the lack of fish diversity. Many species couldn’t leap over the dam, while others were poisoned by chemicals from factories. But the spirits of the river remain alive, at least in the people’s stories. One of them is Nego D’ Água. I stood by the banks of this still very magical river listening to these legends. Here, I share an excerpt from Coelhão’s first-person encounter with Nego d’ Água, as well as a bit of one of the surrealist paintings made by him, this immense artist from Juazeiro (in the Bahian sertão), who merges the dry landscape of the Caatinga with the waters of the Velho Chico. Thank you @ifa.visualarts for the research trip Grateful to @accoelhao for the generous conversation and to @uriel.bezerra for the guidance. #negod’água; #sãofrancisco; #velhochico; #coelhão

Installation view “Dreaming Dashes - Transatlantic Crossroads”, on view until 21. June 2026 @staedtischegalerie 
 Works of art from Brazil and West Africa, housed in the collections of German museums, are printed onto cotton fabrics using the batik printing technique. In the exhibition UNGLAUBLICH - Zeitgenössische Kunst in den Sphären der Religionen, curated by Roland Stratman (@stratmann.roland ) and Matthias Beckmann (@matthiasbeckmann.kunst ) with honourable companies.

Good Friday takes me back to the sertão (Brazilian backlands) again, where I have just returned from. Today is the final procession of the “cordão” (rope of penitents) led by Dona Nenezinha, in Juazeiro, Bahia. The nourishing souls have walked throughout Lent — on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays — all the way to the cemetery; today, this journey ends until next year. The penitents pray for the souls of those who died suddenly, by accident, and did not have time to ask for forgiveness for their sins. Dona Nenezinha’s cordão has existed in Juazeiro since 1901. The practice of these cordões was introduced by the Capuchins (of the Order of Saint Francis of Assisi) in the region as early as the 18th century. Today, few cordões remain. On the way to the cemetery, we encountered the other cordão still active today: that of the self-flagellants, men who sing, dance, and whip themselves in atonement for sins as part of a vow. Thank you @ifa.visualarts for funding this research trip! 💫 … A sexta-feira santa me transporta para o sertão novamente, de onde acabei de voltar. Hoje é a saída final do cordão dos penitentes comandado por Dona Nenezinha, em Juazeiro (Bahia). As Almas Alimentadoras caminharam durante toda a quaresma, segunda, quarta e sexta, até o cemitério, hoje esse percurso termina até o ano que vem. Os penitentes rezam pelas almas daqueles que se foram de repente, por acidente, e não tiveram tempo de pedir perdão por seus pecados. O cordão de dona Nenezinha existe de 1901 em Juazeiro. A prática dos cordões foi introduzida pelos capuchinhos (da Ordem de São Francisco de Assis) desde o início do século 18 naquela região. Hoje, restam poucos cordões. No caminho para o cemitério, encontramos com o outro cordão ativo, dos auto-flageladores, homens que cantam, dançam e se auto-chicoteiam pagando pecados em promessa.

Ana Hupe (Rio de Janeiro, 1983), a journalist with a PhD in Visual Arts from UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), has developed her artistic research through image, form, and space to reconnect with silenced narratives.  In this interview, Hupe guides us through the encounters, events, and forgotten voices that have shaped her creative trajectory. She reveals how her research transcends theoretical frameworks, seeking tactile expression for stories that have long remained untold. Check out the full interview at art100.in/brazil  Link in bio — Ana Hupe (Rio de Janeiro, 1983) é jornalista e doutora em Artes Visuais pela UFRJ (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro). Sua pesquisa artística se desenvolve por meio da imagem, da forma e do espaço, com o intuito de reconectar narrativas silenciadas. Na entrevista, Hupe nos conduz por encontros, acontecimentos e vozes esquecidas que moldaram sua trajetória criativa. Ela revela como sua pesquisa vai além das estruturas teóricas, buscando uma expressão tátil para histórias que permaneceram, por muito tempo, sem ser contadas. Confira a entrevista completa em art100.in/brazil Link na bio

CORRESPONDENCES #2 Cecilia, 1 September 2025, 3:15pm: Hello Ana! (...) I saw a report in the Observer talking about the "difficulty" (cough-cough) of the Costa coffee shop chain here in the UK – which is everywhere and, apparently, in a somewhat cannibalistic process of destruction due to the impact of its own "success," having grown too much and being excessively ubiquitous. I only found out now, through the article, that they've been owned by Coca-Cola since 2018. There are over 2,000 of their stores in the UK, in addition to their 14,000 self-service machines (many inside supermarkets). The article also counts 1,200 Starbucks and 600 Café Neros, and highlights the attention Gen Z is giving to the new player in town, Blank Street, a U.S. chain with a pastel green logo matching the Instagrammable matcha lattes they sell in droves, forming lines out the door. Added to these chains (and there are many others), the article tallies 12,212 independent coffee shops in the country. (...) A kiss, Cecilia p.s.: Over the weekend, a friend showed me Eduardo Galeano's book The Book of Embraces. Do you know it? It has some great illustrations, and they were made by him. Some, not all, have a tone of surreal collages that reminded me a lot of your collages that gave rise to the phantasmagorical compositions. I thought you might also enjoy seeing them (if you don't know them already). I've been enjoying looking at your collage compositions and everything I come across that reminds me of them. . . This is an excerpt from the correspondence between artist Ana Hupe and curator Cecilia Vilela, exchanged over several months to discuss the exhibition. Some of it is included in the book that is part of the installation ‘Slash-and-burn.’ The article cited above is “We loved Costa and all the rest. But the artisan brands are fast gaining ground,” by Andrew Cave. The Observer, 31 August 2025. 📸 Photography Nicholas Burns; the following images are illustrations by Eduardo Galeano from ‘The Book of Embraces.’ . Casa Tomada 1/3 Ana Hupe: Slash-and-burn 📆 until 19 October 2025 🕥 Friday-Sunday (Fri 12-8pm; weekends 12-6pm) 📍92 Webster Road, SE16 4DF

These are some batik works that make up the ‘Slash-and-Burn’ exhibition. I like to use batik because it is a technique of resistance. The drawings I made with melted wax and then dipped in coffee and ink. I reproduced motifs from some early 19th-century paintings by Debret, Rugendas, and other traveling artists in Brazil. It was revealing to look so closely at these paintings, searching for clues of the circulation of coffee in the cities at that time. This Debret painting in the carousel is called “Roasted Coffee” (1826) and shows women who sold coffee on the streets of Rio: one carries the bottle to serve, another carries the cups on a tray on her head. I found many other images with street vendors, a symbol of resistance to this day. The exploitation-monoculture-latifundium triangle remains very relevant today, although masked by the gourmetized presence of coffee in cities with their “hand-roasted, fair-trade coffee labs.” Slash-and-Burn runs until 19 October Curated by @ceciliavilela at Casa Tomada 1/3, RHFA 92 Webster Road, London @92websterroad

Today, 25.09, I have the honor of opening Casa Tomada, @ceciliavilela ’s new space in London, with the exhibition Slash-and-Burn. The title refers to the traditional agricultural practice of burning and waiting for the land to regenerate and become fertile again. Agribusiness does not respect this waiting period, nor does the contemporary pace of major cities. It’s no coincidence that in London or Berlin, a new café opens every week, to keep everyone alert and productive. Obviously, I’m having my morning coffee while inviting those in London to inhabit this cube, a reflective space with batiks and images of coffee culture blending times and spaces. No worries, there will be free coffee. I am immensely grateful to Cecilia Vilela for her trust and for the deep and intense exchanges over the months, which even resulted in a publication that is part of the exhibition. And to André Nobre, for the precise installation and willingness. In the middle of the setup, I also completed another trip around the sun and I was happy to celebrate by materializing ideas into the world - very thankful for thousand a of love messages I received!