Ancestral Wisdom
A collection of ceramic objects are a result of the immersion of eight Brazilian Designers in the Serra da Capivara (Capivara mountains), in Piauí, that represents the value of the collectivity, the exchanges and the ancestors.
By Winnie Bastian and photos by André Nazareth
About eight years ago, designer Flávio Franco first visited the Serra da Capivara National Park in his home state of Piauí. He was enchanted with the region’s natural and historical richness, by the group of plateaus and valleys that gathers the largest concentration of archaeological sites in the Americas (173 of them open to visitation), with over a thousand registered visitors – inevitably, it is considered Cultural Patrimony of Humanity by Unesco. A few years later, he returned, this time to develop crockery with the ceramists of the region, by order of a company from São Paulo. That was when he had an insight: to invite a group of designers to go to the Serra to develop a exclusive collection of ceramics. Time passed and finally the project came to fruition: in January of this year Flávio and seven other Brazilian creators made a excursion into the area. The result will be presented to the public in style this month, with the launch of the pieces at the Design Miami / Basel fair, by the gallery Mercado Moderno (MeMo), based in Rio de Janeiro.
The initiative led by Flavio Franco (PI) was named Design na Serra (Design at the montains), and the designers summoned were Guilherme Wentz (RS), Inês Schertel (RS), Nicole Tomazi (RS), Rodrigo Ohtake (SP), Ronald Sasson (PR), Sérgio J. Matos (PB) and Zanini de Zanine (RJ). Detail: everyone accepted the invitation without knowing what the briefing would be. “I wanted them to arrive with no previous idea for the project; to visit the park first, so that it would be an inspiration, “explains Flávio. In fact, the uniqueness of the place impressed the group. “The grandeur of the Serra da Capivara archaeological site influenced me too much. The ancient caves and cave inscriptions take the imagination far, almost taking the breath away of so exciting”, says Ines Schertel. “You feel almost insignificant in the face of thousands of years of history in front of you – that place demands silence and respect above all else,” says Ronald Sasson.
Only after the tour, when they returned to the pottery, Flavio revealed that the object to be designed should be a vase. And the strategy proved correct, as Rodrigo Ohtake reports: “The expedition in the mountain was very introspective. On the trail, you walk in an Indian line, so you can not talk much. And the nature there is really lush and powerful, we were in an almost meditative state – and we came back with various ideas in our heads. “
The richness of the experience was enhanced by the coexistence of designers with diverse repertoires and styles, as Nicole Tomazi points out: “It was a few days that seemed many, because we really were in the present, we exchanged with each other and we still had this dedication of the potters, who were prepared to welcome us, with open arms … it was very beautiful.” The participation of these professionals, it is important to say, was not limited to the execution of objects: it is a co-creation, since most designers had never worked with the material.
Thus, each guest-designer worked in pairs with a ceramist – and the resulting vessels, 12 units of each model, lead to the inscription of the name of the designer and the Cerâmica Serra da Capivara workshop, as proof of the joint work. “Things we did not understand about clay we ended up learning there; for me, it was a very good and productive experience,” says Sérgio J. Matos. And the potters, in turn, also benefited from this exchange of knowledge, realizing that it was possible to expand the boundaries of their activity. Hail to the power of the collective!
PICTURES
Flávio Franco (left) and Guilherme Wentz working in the studio – the piece developed by Wentz has adapted existing bowls, which, stacked and joined, form a vase (the plant is placed through an opening on the side and the bowl above is loose, to allow watering);
The vessel of Inês Schertel refers to the inscriptions on the rocks and the “beautiful conformations of the caves”
Zanine de Zanine manipulates his vase, which fuses the language of his sculptures with a cactus aesthetic, connected to the aridity characteristic of the region of the Serra da Capivara
“I had never felt the weight – the density, the presence – of Prehistory like when I first came to Serra da Capivara. In addition to the vastness of the rocky sites, the pristine landscape of the region allows us to imagine life and its cycles ever since.” Flávio Franco, in the MeMo gallery catalog for the Miami/Basel 2018 fair (ed. Olhares)
The depiction of sexual acts in the rock inscriptions influenced the contours of the piece signed by Flávio Franco: “volumes that intertwine like legs”
A spinning top that looks “frozen” in permanent balance is the proposal of Sérgio J. Matos – at the top, holes that refer to the mocos’ burrows, typical rodents of the Serra da Capivara, which are also engraved in the vase
To the right, Nicole Tomazi analyzes her creation, a triptych based on the feminine curves: “Pachamama, the goddess of the icy mountains of the south, crosses the country and arrives in the north of Brazil to be reborn by the hands of men”
Inspired by the rocky formations of the region, Rodrigo Ohtake´s project is composed of “hills” that can be moved and receive, on the surface, the remains of the dry clay used in other pieces.
On the left, the organic vase designed by Ronald Sasson is surrounded by “vines” with drawings that reproduce the rock inscriptions, representing “a bridge between the times, between the trace and the history of the place”