SINOPSE.
“Malungo” was a slang word used by africans enslaved in Brazil between the XVth and the XIXth century. Malungo meant comrade, fellow countryman, another african in the diaspora. With slavery abolition in Brazil (1888), no more native africans were brought an sold at the markets. The ones who stayed in South America married and mixed with the white people and the native indigenous populations, and through time the meaning of Malungo evolved to identify a fellow, a partner, a relative, or someone that faced the same social struggle.
Antonio Obá is a brazilian artist that questions the contemporary place of the black body. He created “Malungo” as a ritualistic experience, he’s actor and director, at one time, object and subject. Through the process he dives deep into africanity by means of sacrifice and self-indulgence. Charcoal, fire and ‘cachaça’ are is tools to convey an immersive reflexion about the place of black people in Brazil, and its representations through time.
“Malungo” is a modern timeless reflexion, a punch in the gut, where identity and memory are summoned at crossroads.
Photography by Miguel Pinheiro
(all images are copyrighted and cannot be used without written permission)
