Eine künstlerische Ode an die fast vergessene Naturvolkgemeinschaft der Guarani
2011 hatten wir das erste Mal Kunst von Alexandre Farto, dem portugiesischen StreetArt-Künstler der unter dem Namen Vhils bekannt ist, im Atomlabor gehabt. Zeit für ein Upgrade. Vhils war in Brasilien unterwegs und hat sein sozialkritisches Projekt gegen Globalisierung umgesetzt. Es geht in diesem Fall um das Naturvolk der Guarani und die Umsiedlung durch die Regierung und dieses Projekt soll diese fast vergessene Aktion wieder in die kollektive Erinnerung zurückrufen.“We are all products of the chaos that surrounds us,” says Portuguese street artist Alexandre Farto – aka Vhils – in André Santos’s film, which documents the indigenous village of Araçaí, Brazil, where 90 Guaraní people were moved by the government at the turn of this century, displacing them from their ancestral lands. Immortalizing these forgotten people, Farto carves their portraits onto buildings and the doors of their homes – mixing indigenous and new techniques – giving them the voice and dignity they have been denied.
“I believe that art has the power to bring these issues to the fore and perhaps create change, as both the government and the media seem to ignore their plight,” says Farto, who recently created the hypnotic music video for U2’s “Raised by Wolves.” “Indigenous communities around the world are struggling to maintain their local heritage and keep customs alive in face of this overwhelming model of development that is leaving them behind.”
