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Exhibition reviews
Mario Cravo Neto:
A Serene Expectation
of Light
Autograph ABP, London
15 January 2 April 2016
Mario Cravo Neto is one of Brazils
most notable photographers and
sculptors, and this exhibition marks a
welcome opportunity, for the first time,
to see a solo exhibition of his work in
London. The artist, who died in R009, is
best known for his images of everyday
life in his native state of Bahia, on the
eastern coast of Brazil, a region with a
long and rich African heritage. The
poetic title of this exhibition comes
from the famous Brazilian musician
Caetano 2eloso, who said of Cravo
Netos work We can feel how he lov-
ingly touches each wall, each grain of
sand, each wrinkle. Each mind in the
city all is caressed by his serene expec-
tation of light.
While this exhibition assembles
only a small part of Cravo Netos oeu-
Mario Cravo Neto Homem com dois peixes
vre, it gives a strong sense of some of
(Man with two fish), 199R
the key themes in his photographic
work. It is divided in two parts The with slaves violently ripped from their There are dozens of )rishas, and Eshu
Eternal Now and LUroi. In the first homelands in West Africa. Condensed represents the link between the spiritu-
series, entirely in black and white, the and re-territorialized in Brazil, where it al and the material world, a messenger
artist represents rituals that appear borrowed elements from indigenous figure with parallels to the Trickster of
ersatz as well as eternal, creations of traditions and colonial Christianity, Native American mythology. jymbols
the artists imagination endowed with today Candombl has over three mil- of Eshus presence from foods con-
a deeply affecting, almost primordial lion followers worldwide. sumed in his honor to sly glances pop
power. A black rock is inserted into an The second half of the exhibition up in nearly every photograph, inti-
ear, which turns out to be a perfectly offers a selection from Cravo Netos mately entwining him with the street
contoured receptacle. A turtle shell much larger Lar8i series largely can- life of jalvador.
obscures a persons face, yet takes on did color photographs depicting the As the photographer and researcher
its own anthropomorphic qualitiesJ its urban life of jalvador, the capital of Pierre 2erger reminds us, the original
tessellations suggesting eyes, nose, Bahia. The vibrant images have an representation of Eshu with an erect
and mouth. almost audible amplitude to them, in phallus was an affirmation of the gods
The artist commented that he hoped contrast to the quiet undulations of the racy, shameless character. These images
to develop that transition between the first series. Everything is brought to its shocked the sensibilities of Catholic
inert ob ect and the sacred ob ect. sensual peak, from perspiration drip- Europeans, who demonized Eshu and
Implicit in this quote is a key insight to ping off bodies to markets filled with regarded his followers as Devil-wor-
be sacred is, above all else, to be active. pungent smells oozing from over- shippers. Cravo Neto pares away this
Oock, shell, shoulder, bird all are ripened fruit. The dynamism and colonial discrimination, revealing the
equally vivid, pulsing with spiritual movement of these photos offers a sym- integration of religious practice with
potential in these photographs. In many pathetic portrait of a people defined by peoples lives and livelihoods.
cases, ob ects, bodies, and animals seem strength and endurance. Cravo Neto is The colonialist tendency in Brazil to
to fuse into a single entity, an entire not merely an ethnographer document- equate Eshu with the Catholic figure of
ecosystem contained in one image. ing locals, but a participant in a the Devil persists today. Sowever, it is
It comes as no surprise to learn that swirling, captivating world in which he perhaps more appropriate to compare
the artist aimed to adopt a religious seems to feel perfectly at home. Eshu to Christ himself, as Mestre
position in photography. The body, and The word Lar8i is a salute to the Moraes, an important capoeira master
indeed all things physical in these )risha Eshu, a divinity of the Voruban one did. Much as Christ can be seen as
works, provide portals into the sublime. pantheon. )rishas are divinized ances- a messenger from 4od to humanity,
Cravo Netos aesthetic has its roots in tors worshiped in Candombl. They Eshus primary role is to serve as a mes-
the richly textured tradition of Can- represent forces of nature whilst also senger from the spiritual world. The
dombl, which came to the New World possessing human characteristics. chief power of Eshu lies in his ability to

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open and close paths, which is why he

demands that offerings to him be left at
a crossroads, a strong visual parallel to
the Cross.
Cravo Netos photos both describe
the reality of Bahian life, especially its
pervasive religiosity, while also cri-
tiquing the misery of marginalization.
Much of this social exclusion, poverty,
and pre udice can be traced back to the
Portugese slave trade from Africa
between 15&0 and 1;;;, a shockingly
recent date. Oather than allowing his
sub ects to be defined by this tragedy,
Cravo Neto, emphasizes the Bahian
peoples spiritual and cultural rich-
ness, and the emancipatory potential
of their creativity.
While the hot, sweaty vibrancy of (ohn Piper Preliminary Design for Chichester
his photographs can feel a world away Cathedral Tapestry, 19:5
in the cold grip of the English winter,
Cravo Netos complex evocation of the woven and embroidered, but it is his dent formal style it had endured,
legacies of slavery and migration res- tapestries that command the most unchanged for several hundred years.
onate with Britains own conflicted his- attention. These works were carefully The exhibition contains one of Pipers
tory. And perhaps this is the real trick- interpreted by weavers Hfrom West chasubles for Chichester Cathedral, a
ery at play in this exhibition. A show Dean studios amongst others6 from bold appliqud design in gold and pur-
that ostensibly sets out to reveal the mixed media paintings and the com- ple on mustard yellow handwoven
fabulous syncretism of Brazilian reli- parison between the two placed side by silk. A former Dean of Chichester once
gion has the potential to reveal unex- side is fascinating. It is clear that he had told me that he felt like a walking tar-
pected, neglected insights into post- a remarkable understanding of colour, get when he wore this chasuble, and
colonial England. but also of the visual translation to art indeed the spiral on the front of the
in an ecclesiastical setting. garment is not sufficiently evocative to
Renata Homem is a PhD Candidate at Working in the field of ecclesiastical suggest much else. This is the only robe
the Kniversity of Brasilia, currently textiles myself it is rare to encounter a in the exhibition, which is a pity as it is
serving as a visiting scholar at ings work that visually reaches the end of not a strong design, whereas the other
College London the building it inhabits. There is a huge exhibited designs for vestments would
Aaron Rosen is Lecturer in jacred Tra- demand on these works to appeal both have been more interesting to see phys-
ditions the Arts at ings College close up and across vast distances and ically displayed.
London and the author of Art and Cathedrals are particularly tricky as the Less impressive are the printed tex-
Religion in the 21st Century HThames vista may be obscured by elaborate tiles that Piper designed for jander-
Sudson, R0156 screens or interrupted by sumptuous sons in the 19:0s. Inspired by the
quires. Pipers Chichester tapestry nev- Welsh mountains, they contain depth
er had this problem. Like it or loath it, it but the colours are muddy and the pat-
will invite you to investigate further
John Piper: one glimpse through the Arundel
tern repeats seem too small for the
design. In fact, the scaling is also a prob-
The Fabric of Modernism screen and you are reeled in to decipher lem in the Arundel fabricJ wonderful
its codes. Pipers use of asymmetry is abstracted figures stand ma estically
Pallant House Gallery, Chichester particularly appealing, the focal point side by side draped and crowned, but
12 March 12 June 2016 of the cross and sacrament above, is they become lost and confused as their
very much to the left of centre yet the scale is reduced. More successful are
To anyone who has visited Chichester
outside pairs on both sides solidly bal- the abstract printed designs produced
Cathedral since 19::, (ohn Pipers
ance each other with their depiction of by David Whitehead in 195Y-55. These
work will be a familiar sight, and the
the four evangelists, and elements of are clean and sharp and ooze style rem-
current exhibition of his work at Pal-
earth, air, fire and water. iniscent of the 3estival of Britain.
lant Souse, Chichester celebrates his
During the 1950s many artists (oan Leading art galleries such as Pallant
connection with the city by marking
Miro, Oobert Delaunay, and Marc Cha- Souse, rarely seem to celebrate local
the 50th anniversary of the installation
gall to mention ust a few turned their art perhaps because they are accused
of the tapestries.
skills towards creating works in differ- of being parochial when they do, but
Probably best known Hin secular cul-
ent mediums, printing fabric for fash- this exhibition, although pedestrian in
ture6 as a painter of landscapes and
ion or theatre and reaching beyond the places, is a notable reflection of Chich-
ecclesiastical buildings after the jecond
confines of the art collector audience. A esters artistic heritage and is well
World War, Piper has a distinctive style,
few also designed garments for the worth a visit.
which pulses with moody energy. The
church which helped to release ecclesi-
exhibition features his textile works
astical textile-making from the deca- Polly Meynell is an ecclesiastical
Hcreated later in his life6J printed,
textile artist

Art and Christianity 86 Summer 2016 7