Through sculptures and drawings, Sérgio Soarez embarks on a careful investigation of the ontological complexity of the Yoruba people and Afro-diasporic religions in Bahia. Linguistic systems from West Africa, particularly from the Gulf of Guinea, are fused with the exuberance of the Afro-Baroque style of Bahia, produced during the colonial period. This encompasses everything from ornamental scrolls and spirals to the intense iconography of the African diaspora, often incorporated into cultural exchanges that do not deny the violence inherent in those interactions. Objects collected and recontextualized, many found in junkyards, antique fairs, or on the streets, are the focus of his work. Through assemblage, the artist makes iron objects (keys, knives, drills, pliers, rusted tools, or weapons) and wooden objects (plinths, rocaille, simple planks, or ornaments) coexist with one another. These elements align various lives, times, and uses, with their traces marked on their bodies. Soarez invites the viewer to these pairings as a congregation of encounters analogous to the miscegenation and syncretism resulting from the African diaspora. The connection between geometric language and Afro- Brazilian religious repertoires acknowledges oracles, orishas, spiritual weapons, and divination systems, such as merindinlogun. By referencing the ofá—a sacred weapon composed of a bow and arrow used by Oshossi, other orishas, and Jeje Mahi vodúns (deities / natural energies) as a hunting weapon in the forest—the artist alludes to the values imbued in these instruments, such as precision, focus, wisdom, and strategy.

WORKS IN THE EXHIBITION:

12 Cutelo (2024), wood, fabric, iron plate, and instrument, 108 × 45 × 48 cm; Mão nas cadeiras (2011), wood and stainless steel, 75 × 17 × 26 cm; Pêndulo (2014), wood and iron, 170 × 43 × 57 cm; Sete gotas de lágrimas no oceano (2012), wood, nylon rope, and stainless steel, 160 × 160 cm. All courtesy of the artist