Aline Baiana’s works explore the conflicts between elite powers and Brazilian quilombos (communities formed by escaped and emancipated enslaved people) from a social justice perspective, exposing the environmental impacts of industrialization. Her work engages with the testimonies of fishermen, shellfish gatherers, artisans, and allies of the quilombola struggle, amplifying the voices of these resistance narratives. Ouro negro é a gente [Black gold is the people], Baiana’s film presented at the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, confronts the contradictions of developmentalist logic by examining oil extraction in Brazil and its trail of environmental violence against quilombola communities. On the Maré Island, in the Baía de Todos-os-Santos, the local population fights to preserve their way of life and protect the surrounding ecosystem, even as they face the profound consequences of industrialization and so-called ‘progress’. While major infrastructure projects—such as the Mataripe refinery and the Aratu harbour—are celebrated as emblems of national advancement, they are, in reality, sources of destruction and environmental racism for traditional communities, whose territory has been systematically degraded. The artist critiques the values underpinning the development model imposed by elite interests. Ouro negro é a gente looks beyond the promises of modernization to examine the social, environmental, and cultural consequences of a model that continues to exclude those who have historically been left behind. The film compels us to rethink what we mean by wealth—and to ask, ultimately, who it is meant to serve.

WORK IN THE EXHIBITION:

21 Ouro negro é a gente (2025), full HD video, 52 . Courtesy of Pivo—Arte e Pesquisa