Bright and richly-patterned paintings boldly occupy the walls at SBC Gallery, presenting the exhibition Vende Tela, Compra Terra. The works, made on large unstretched canvases, teem with tropical wildlife. Trees, birds, fish, snakes, hogs, armadillos, pacas, tapirs, among other figures, are entangled with one another in a dense web of relationships. These flatly-rendered creatures blend with their surroundings, which are filled with vibrant kené motifs—ancient geometric designs that draw inspiration from forests, fauna, dreams and imagination. A black outline delineates all of the elements in these intricate and kaleidoscopic compositions, distinguishing the different entities that coexist within the shared environment.

The paintings are by members of MAHKU, the Huni Kuin Artists Movement, an Indigenous art and research collective based in Jordão, in the state of Acre in Brazil. Each work consists of a visual translation of a sacred song used in the Huni Kuin ayahuasca rituals—traditional healing ceremonies during which the vine mixture is consumed. Referred to as huni meka in Hãtxa Kuĩ language, the songs guide the participants through the ritual experience, and more specifically through the visions the nixi pae (ayahuasca) induces. Curator and anthropologist Daniel Dinato, who co-organized the show with MAHKU founder Ibã Huni Kuin (Isaías Sales), brought the works on display in the exhibition from the Amazon region. The presentation of Vende tela, compra terra at SBC Gallery falls within an artistic program increasingly focused on Latin America following the appointment of Director Nuria Carton de Grammont in 2020.

The show activates and brings attention

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