(abaixo versão em português)
Song of the Road
I believe that much unseen is also here.
(. . .)
(I and mine do not convince by arguments,
similes, rhymes, we convince by our presence).
Walt Whitman
“Road” is a word that offers metaphors of transformation of everyday life. It involves poetic decompositions of yet another word—freedom. Many are the poetries and songs that express this longing for simply letting oneself go. “Road” is also the title of one of the works in this exhibition, in which Cristiane Mohallem becomes a traveler through her embroidery threads. The works exhibited here were made in artistic residencies in Italy, France, and the United States, or right after her return to Brazil.
Between what is close and what is far, Cristiane wanders through the traces of light emitted by the places she visited. The artist writes “songs” about the presence of things, the perception of seeing what could go unnoticed, the pauses for contemplating what will always be in motion. It is this expanded travel time (as well as that of the action of embroidering) that forms the landscapes of Elm Tree, Ilha (Island), Pedra do Mar (III) (Sea Stone [III]), Oliveiras (Olive Trees), and the series Through this Night a Mightily Form Moves. In this intense experiencing, two paintings—Autorretrato (Self-Portrait) and O Viajante (The Traveler)—are counterpoints that affirm the feeling of being present. If on the one hand these paintings personify possible passersby, on the other, because their faces are not revealed, their future identification remains undetermined.
Among the numerous poetries Cristiane carries in her background, symbolisms are gradually incorporated into the weaving. Colors turn into textures. Lines form drawings. Fabrics become canvases. Paths are thus outlined, and the meanings of the journey (if they are open to specification), take shape upon returning back home. Here, the exhibition emerges as an album, to be contemplated in search of other memories.
Sep, 2016
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Canção da estrada
Acredito que muito do não visto também está aqui.
( ... )
(Eu e os meus não convencemos por argumentos,
símiles, rimas, nós convencemos pela nossa presença).
Walt Whitman
A estrada é uma palavra que oferece metáforas de transformação da vida cotidiana. Envolve decomposições poéticas de outra palavra: a liberdade. Muitas são as poesias e as músicas que expressam esse desejo de simplesmente deixar-se ir. “Estrada” é também título de uma das obras desta exposição em que Cristiane Mohallem torna-se viajante por meio das linhas do bordado. Os trabalhos expostos aqui foram realizados em residências artísticas na Itália, França e Estados Unidos ou logo após o seu retorno.
Entre o que está longe e o que está perto, Cristiane perambula pelos rastros das luzes que emanam daqueles lugares visitados. A artista compõe “canções” sobre a presença das coisas, sobre a percepção do olhar que poderia passar desapercebido, sobre pausas para contemplação do que sempre estará em movimento. É esse tempo expandido da viagem (e também o da ação de bordar) que formam as paisagens de “Elm Tree”, “Ilha”, “Pedra do Mar (III)”, “Oliveiras” e da série “Through this Night a Mightily Form Moves”. Nesse vivenciar intenso, duas pinturas – “Autorretrato” e “O Viajante” – são contrapontos que afirmam a experiência do estar lá. Por um lado, essas pinturas personificam possíveis passantes. Por outro, ao não evidenciar seus rostos, deixam em aberto futuras identificações.
Entre as diversas poesias que Cristiane carrega em sua bagagem, os simbolismos aos poucos vão se constituindo como urdiduras. Cores tornam-se texturas. Linhas desenham. Tecidos transformam-se em telas. Assim, os caminhos são traçados e os sentidos da viagem (se é que se pode especificá-los) tomam forma na volta para casa. Aqui, a exposição emerge como um álbum – para ser contemplado em busca de outras lembranças.
Ananda Carvalho
Curadora e Crítica de arte
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Gravitation of the Mysterious Love of Things Unaware of Us *
Cristiane Mohallem’s work encompasses the motion caused by the mutual attraction between bodies. In love with a “thing,” the artist takes up the act of gravitation: a restless gesture that makes her orbit around a specific element for a long time. On the other hand, her regard is built as if “reifying” the landscape, comprising a desire to detach, cut out, extract an element and focus on it. These choices are made among unjustifiable chances of a mysterious love.
In the series presented in this exhibition, Cristiane’s passion is stirred up by the stones, whose presence becomes an anchor in the artist’s creation process. In this loving enchantment, such knowledge must be scrutinized. With lines ranging from the figurative to the abstract, each piece discusses the subjective representation of the regard through different techniques. She begins with the drawing, to then add embroidery and painting. They represent different times, quick and slow actions, overlapping lines—whether produced by a pencil, needle or brush.
In this gravitational movement, knowledge is gradually built along the creation process of the series. The stone’s symbolisms and meanings emerge after the theme is chosen. They consist of different ways of seeing; multiple perspectives into something that ignores us; speculations that create unexplainable glossaries. The artist wishes to know more, and at the same time leaves an open interpretation, inviting the public to gravitate alongside her. And then—I would dare interfere—I realize there is something beyond the specific relation with the stones. Cristiane develops a mysterious love for the production of images—a desire to turn them inside out, to look into one side, then the other, and thus experience them intensely.
Ananda Carvalho
Curator and Art Critic
Aug, 2015
*The title of the exhibition is a free adaptation of the verses of Jorge Luis Borges’s poem On Acquiring an Encyclopedia
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