Vertical 14 (Ajarani, RR)

1984 - Photography (Photography)

57 x 38.5 cm

Claudia Andujar


In 1980, with the construction of highways in Indigenous territories, an epidemic was brought to the Yanomami region. As the Yanomami do not have first names, it was necessary to give them numbers to indicate that they had already been vaccinated and identify each one for their medical records. From this series of events, Claudia Andujar’s Marcados series was born: what was supposed to be a mere photographic record, for organizational purposes, ended up raising a big question about the “labels” given to people in the construction of societies. The series includes 82 photos of the expedition and was initially published together with texts and reports by the artist in the Commission for the Creation of the Yanomami Park. Vertical 14 (Ajarani, RR) from the Marcados series gives a glimpse into the intimacy, trust, and understanding Andujar has built with the Yanomami, one of Brazil’s largest Indigenous groups. According to the artist, this is related to her personal history. Born in Europe, the artist lived through World War II. Her entire family was killed in a concentration camp by the Nazi regime, where people were marked to die. Andujar’s portraits with numbers became a tool for the survival of the Yanomami people and culture. For the photographer, “They are marked to live, not to die.” These portraits, taken in the 1980s are as relevant as ever in a post-pandemic world. The raising of new sanitary borders render social injustices in Brazil even more visible. The Brazilian demarcated territory, for which Andujar fought all her life, is now suffering once more with an increase in malaria, Covid-19, and chronic child malnutrition, in addition the Indigenous populations are facing a significant invasion of miners, encouraged by those in power and extractivist corporations operating in the rainforest.


Claudia Andujar was born in Switzerland in 1931, and then moved to Oradea, on the border between Romania and Hungary, where her paternal family, of Jewish origin, lived. With the persecution of Jews during World War II, she fled with her mother to Switzerland and then emigrated to the United States. In 1955, she came to Brazil. Having spent most of her life in a permanently foreign condition, Claudia turned photography into a working tool and a means of contact with the country. Over the following decades, she travelled all over Brazil and collaborated with national and international magazines such as Life, Aperture, and Look, among many others. For almost seven decades, Andujar has been thoroughly involved with the Yanomami community in the Amazon; grappling with the challenges of visually interpreting their daily lives in sharp black and white imagery, as well as attempting to visually translate their shamanic culture through more experimental techniques like flash devices, oil lamps, and infrared film. Her works deliberately stands in the threshold of visual collage, documentary, and activism, perceiving photography as a tool for political change and raising awareness to the complexity of the daily life and traditions of her subjects, their restless resistance and dignity, and the ongoing injustices they have been subjected to for centuries. Andujar’s images of life in the rainforest and her political involvement with Indigenous causes made her an internationally recognized leading voice in defense of the Indigenous people of Brazil, whose land has been in constant threat by development and illegal mining activities, and more recently by a far-right government that have been actively revoking the rights of Brazilian native populations.


Colors:



Related works sharing similar palette

Three Poems by Katy Lederer
© » BOMB

BOMB Magazine | Three Poems Necessary (Required) Cookies that the site cannot function properly without...

An Evening with Yin-Ju Chen
© » KADIST

Join us to welcome Yin-Ju Chen , Kadist SF artist-in-residence this Spring...

Gildas Le Reste — & Guests
© » SLASH PARIS

Gildas Le Reste — & Guests — Catherine Putman Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris Login Newsletter Twitter Facebook Gildas Le Reste — & Guests — Catherine Putman Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris English Français Home Events Artists Venues Magazine Videos Back Previous Next Gildas Le Reste — & Guests Exhibition Drawing, print, painting Gildas Le Reste, Notes de voyage #1, 2023 Ink on paper mounted on canvas Gildas Le Reste & Guests Ends in 27 days: January 27 → March 9, 2024 Galerie Catherine Putman has pleasure in making a double invitation to Gildas Le Reste as both artist and exhibition curator...

Gildas Le Reste — & Guests
© » SLASH PARIS

Gildas Le Reste — & Guests — Galerie Catherine Putman — Exposition — Slash Paris Connexion Newsletter Twitter Facebook Gildas Le Reste — & Guests — Galerie Catherine Putman — Exposition — Slash Paris Français English Accueil Événements Artistes Lieux Magazine Vidéos Retour Précédent Suivant Gildas Le Reste — & Guests Exposition Dessin, estampe, peinture Gildas Le Reste, Notes de voyage #1, 2023 Encre sur papier marouflé sur toile Gildas Le Reste & Guests Encore 27 jours : 27 janvier → 9 mars 2024 La galerie Catherine Putman est heureuse de proposer une double invitation à Gildas Le Reste, comme artiste et commissaire d’exposition...

Alexandra Pirici
© » KADIST

Parthenon Marbles An immaterial version of the sculptural ensemble embodied by five performers, presents a research into the financial and legal implications and the value of the sculptures as cultural capital...

Kodak
© » KADIST

Andrew Norman Wilson

2019

In Andrew Norman Wilson’s work Kodak the artist uses computer-generated imagery to create narratives that question the reliability of images in the age of post-production...

Office Voodoo
© » KADIST

Haegue Yang

2010

In addition to Yang’s signature drying rack and light bulbs, Office Voodoo includes various office supplies like CDs, paper clips, headphones, a computer mouse, a stamp, a hole puncher, a mobile phone charger...

Artist Transforms Bicycle Chains Into Faceless Human Figures Tethered to the Modern World
© » MODERN MET ART

Artist Transforms Bicycle Chains Into Human Figures With Tethers Home / Art / Sculpture Artist Transforms Bicycle Chains Into Faceless Human Figures Tethered to the Modern World By Margherita Cole on December 7, 2023 Rather than carve sculptures from one material, Young-Deok Seo assembles his art from numerous, even hundreds, of individual pieces...

Four Italian Collectors on Instagram Have Been Unmasked as Catfish Accounts
© » LARRY'S LIST

An Italian law firm is now looking into whether the owner of the four fake collector accounts committed any possible crimes....

Universal Futurological Question Mark (U.F.O)
© » KADIST

Julius Koller

1978

This work is one of Koller’s many variations which he began to use from 1970 to describe the ‘cultural situations’ he created...

Until It Makes Sense
© » KADIST

Mario Garcia Torres

2004

Mario Garcia Torres imagines cinematic devices to replay stories occasionally forgotten by Conceptual art...

Lin Yilin: A Golden Journey
© » KADIST

Lin Yilin: A Golden Journey presents the artist Lin Yilin’s interactions with the city of San Francisco and the local arts community during his residency at Kadist Art Foundation...

Weekly Picks: Malaysia (24–30 Dec 2018)
© » ARTS EQUATOR

Weekly Picks: Malaysia (24–30 Dec 2018) | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Weekly To Do December 24, 2018 Tales of Apocalypse Exhibition by Latif Maulan , at Galeri Titikmerah, 22–31 Dec An exhibition of recent artworks by contemporary self-taught artist Latif Maulan, in the artist-run space Galeri Titikmerah in Publika...

But Now I Manufacture Hate, Every Single Day
© » KADIST

Huang Xiaopeng

2011

Four knives appearing as if thrown at the wall to alleviate frustration and boredom, form rhythmic shadows and markings of time above a translated phrase boldly printed in simplified Chinese and English...

Sarah Brahim remonte ses souvenirs dans un maelström de gestes et de sons
© » LE MONDE

Sarah Brahim remonte ses souvenirs dans un maelström de gestes et de sons Cet article vous est offert Pour lire gratuitement cet article réservé aux abonnés, connectez-vous Se connecter Vous n'êtes pas inscrit sur Le Monde ? Inscrivez-vous gratuitement Article réservé aux abonnés Vue d’ensemble de « Sometimes We Are Eternal », exposition de Sarah Brahim, à Lugano (Suisse), en octobre 2023...

Intentionally Left Blanc
© » KADIST

Hank Willis Thomas

2012

Intentionally Left Blanc alludes to the technical process of its own (non)production; a procedure known as retro-reflective screen printing in which the image is only fully brought to life through its exposure to flash lighting...

“KorSonoR” exposition-festival d’arts sonores et visuels
© » ARTPRESS

"KorSonoR" exposition-festival d'arts sonores et visuels - artpress X 9 octobre 2023 Dans AP Web , arts visuels “KorSonoR” exposition-festival d’arts sonores et visuels Par Félix Gatier...

Untitled 1
© » KADIST

Pratchaya Phinthong

2009

Phinthong made four photographs depicting fragments of meteorites of which the faces have been polished to reflect the sky...

Take the ArtsEquator Readers Survey 2018
© » ARTS EQUATOR

Take the ArtsEquator Readers Survey 2018 | ArtsEquator Skip to content Tags: Readers Survey About the author(s) Kathy Rowland Website Kathy Rowland is the Managing Editor of ArtsEquator.com , a registered charity that she co-founded with Jenny Daneels in 2016...

Cosmovision V - VI - VII
© » KADIST

Rometti Costales

2013

The three cut-outs are made of three aerial photographs coming from the archives of the Ecuadorian Military Geographic Institute...