The Collective Dig, atualmente em exposição na Villa du Parc, em uma curadoria de Bernard Vienat, é um teatro de papel em 9 atos, baseado no texto 15 mitos y realidades de la minería transnacional en la Argentina : Guía para desmontar el imaginario prominero. Personagens extraídos de ilustrações de um tratado medieval personificam trabalhadores de minas que debatem, enquanto performam seus trabalhos. Na cena 3, O Primeiro a Questionar diz:
Não posso deixar de me perguntar, temos o direito afinal? De saquear e extrair tudo, de forma tão brutal?
As comunidades consentem, ou nem sabem o que se faz? Ou são silenciadas pelo poder, sem coragem de dizer jamais?
The Collective Dig, currently on view at Villa du Parc curated by Bernard Vienat, is a paper theatre in nine acts, based on the text 15 mitos y realidades de la minería transnacional en la Argentina: Guía para desmontar el imaginario prominero. Characters drawn from illustrations in a medieval treatise personify mine workers who debate while performing their labour. In scene 3, The First to Question says: I cannot help but wonder, do we have the right? To plunder and extract, with all our might. Do the communities consent, do they even know? Or are they silenced by power, afraid to say no?
#bethonicomabe #villaduparc #reconnectingearth #werkleitz
A partir dessa semana, instalação do projeto The Collective Dig na Villa du Parc, parte do evento bienal (re)connecting earth, esse ano sob o titulo Ressources sensibles. A instalação foi comissionada por Werkleitz em 2023 e aqui traduzida em francês pela primeira vez.
Ultimo final de semana para visitar a exposição Histórias da Ecologia, no MASP. Apresento a instalação Elite Mineral de 2019, feita no contexto do projeto Meta-Arquivo 1964-1985 Espaço de Escuta e Leitura de Histórias sobre a Ditadura, de Ana Pato (Sesc Belenzinho em SP). Esse trabalho aborda um momento decisivo em que o projeto de uma minerobras, nos moldes do exemplo da petrobras previa a nacionalização dos minérios. Essa proposta foi imediatamente abandonada com o golpe militar-empresarial, do qual fizeram parte empresas mineradoras. Para a exposição no Masp agradeço ao André Mesquita pelas boas trocas e a toda a equipe do MaSP nesse projeto, assinado tbem por Isabella Rjeille. Colaboração de Victor Galvão, e Ana Carolina Reginatto (pesquisa Os mineradores e o regime ditatorial no Brasil).
When a dear friend sends me a video of my work now at MASP São Paulo, in the exhibition Histórias da ecologia, so many memories come rushing back. Thank you, Adriana Peret, for our friendship since pre-adolescence and for all the beautiful moments we’ve shared — a true, lifelong connection.
Quando uma amiga querida me envia agora um vídeo do meu trabalho no MASP São Paulo, tantas memórias vêm à tona. Obrigada, Adriana Peret, por nossa amizade desde a pré-adolescência e por termos vivido tantos momentos lindos juntas — uma conexão verdadeira para toda a vida.
Received from Werkleitz some images of the installation ‘ Soil Stories’ in the Moritzburg Museum. Observing the complex life of soil, various forms combine on paper, in videos, and sculptures. Thanks to the support of curators Alexander Klose and Daniel Hermann - all along with great debates. Also thanks to each one from the production team, up on stage with all artists. It was a very touching inauguration, after over a year of collective project development, by the side of amazing participant artists.
Photos by Michael Klehm. @bethonicomabe@werkleitz@kunstmuseum_moritzburg #soil #roots @klose446
In Halle, Germany, with Peter Dorman at the planetarium. Part of the Extraordinary Mineral Stories* is my encounter with Billy Meier and his photo collection of Unidentified Flying Objects taken along the years. Meyer keeps at his farm in the Swiss pre Alps the largest photo archive of his sightings. Images by Michel Klehm. *This piece is a reading with projection, approx 30 min.
@bethonicomabe@ma_l3h@kunstmuseum_moritzburg@werkleitz@peter_planetarium
A caleidoscope of illustrations and photographs filled the dome of Halle‘s planetarium. With the competent help of Peter Dorman, responsable for education, production and technique of the planetarium, we transformed and practiced the reading of the Extraordinary Mineral Stories, piece originally made for videobrasil in 2017 (curated by Ana Pato, amongst others) and supported by Pro Helvetia (and EBA UFMG, always, between 2002 and 2018). The event was curated by Maximilian Lehner, with moderation of Katerina Genidogan and presentation of video by Lito Katou. @planetariumhalle@planetarium_halle_saale@bethonicomabe@ma_l3h@litokattou@erina_gen@werkleitz@kunstmuseum_moritzburg@peter_planetarium@prohelvetia@anapato
Arriving for the reading of the Extraordinary Mineral Stories in the Planetarium of Halle, Germany. In the frame of the exhibition Planetary Peasants, at the Moritzburg Art Museum. Cartaz em colaboração com Jônio Bethônico, sempre. @bethonicomabe@kunstmuseum_moritzburg@werkleitz@joniobethonico@ma_l3h
The Lobster War was a dispute between France and Brazil about the fishing of lobster in the coast of Pernambuco. Having exhausted and lost its colonial resources it seemed obvious for the French to simply go fishing elsewhere. The Brazilian resistence against this extraction was vehemently voiced by the press and it even became theme of carnaval songs. The time of carnaval seemed to have been strategically chosen by De Gaule for the sending of the battleship to press the Brazilian governement; the population was ‚distracted’. Although, the battleship was seen as a declaration of war, indeed taken as a threat, but it did little to the fishermen it was supposed to ‚protect’ as it was not prepared to share its food and wine with the fishers. Those were forced to go home hungry, after months of waiting and eating… lobsters. We speculated from facts and the absence of documents, from traces of fishing in the early 1960‘s and amplified the imprint of this story in the French culture. This was fertile ground for the imagination that linked the workgroup around writer artist Jean-Yves Jouannais. We observed the lobster and its warrior-like form as much as its behaviour as an army underwater. We observed how the French threat enabled the reorganisation of Brazilian military forces that, few months after, took the power for 20 years of dictatorship. #ensp #bethonicomabe #jeanyvesjouannais @melinarard@ttneirab@jazitovil@aahdeniss@thomas_bouniol@joffrey_sebault@aahdeniss@teva.ly@rencontresarles@bresilfrance2025
Opening week of the Rencontres d‘Arles, with great conversations about our endeavour studying and speculating the Lobster War. By the side of Jean-Yves Jouannais it has been a year of thinking together, producing and writing stories. Thankful for the engagement of each participant, who also worked by the side of Elizabeth Guyon for the scenography, that allows the immersive conditions from where one is able to read the many layers of research and fiction. @teva.ly@joffrey_sebault@aahdeniss@melinarard@thomas_bouniol@mtn_bemol@bethonicomabe@ensp.arles@rencontresarles@jazitovil@ttneirab@bresilfrance2025 #jeanyvesjouannais
Celebrating this week the inauguration of our project Guerre de la Langouste, during the Rencontre de la Photographie d‘Arles. By the side of Jean-Yves Jouannais and a great group of students, we worked for a year period to trace together ways of narrating about and from the diplomatic dispute that opposed Brazil and France around fishing on the coast of Nordeste. The war was led by debates and events that were in part ridiculous, but not only. Writing the past while speculating on its traces, the group collectively built a web of stories. A beautiful working process for which we also thank the many colleagues at the school that helped, built, dispatched, organised, solved, printed, received, quoted, arranged in order to make it possible. My thanks to Jean-Yves for such a kind partnership. @ensp.arles@bethonicomabe@aahdeniss@melinarard@joffrey_sebault@teva.ly@mtn_bemol@thomas_bouniol@rencontresarles@jazitovil@ttneirab@bresilfrance2025 #jeanyvesjouannais
Opening yesterday the exhibition The Lobster War at the ENSP Arles, in the frame of the Rencontre de la Photographie. With Jean-Yves Jouannais as invited artist-author, it was a project developed collectively with students from the school -Denys, Maria, Jacinta, Teva, Célia, Joffrey, Thomas, Melina. The diplomatic dispute between France and Brazil that took place between 1961 and 1963 was not without real consequences. We here speculate from history to locate its echoes in French Institutions and culture. Proud to be part of this endeavour and thankful to Jean and each participant. Scenography by Elizabeth Guyon. @melinarard@mtn_bemol@joffrey_sebault@teva.ly@thomas_bouniol@bethonicomabe #langouste @aahdeniss@jazitovil@ttneirab@bresilfrance2025 #jeanyvesjouannais
