Jaider Esbell ( Normandia, 1979 –

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, November 2, 2021) was a Brazilian writer, artist, art educator, curator, geographer, and indigenous rights activist. He was one of the most renowned Macuxi artists in Brazil, his works were displayed at the 2021 São Paulo Biennial and 2022 Venice Biennale.

Biography

Jaider was born in a village of the Macuxi people in Raposa Serra do Sol indigenous territory, Roraima, in 1979. He was homeschooled by his adoptive mother Bernaldina José Pedro, a famous Macuxi activist, tribal leader, and shaman, who died in June 2020 from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. Already as a young man, Jaider started to engage in social activism. He left his village at the age of 18 to continue his studies in Boa Vista. He started working as an electrician at Eletrobras, which allowed him to travel around the country and expand his knowledge of the indigenous culture. It was at that time that he made his first attempts at painting and writing but ended up destroying everything he had created. In 2007, he graduated in geography from the Federal University of Roraima and, in 2009, he obtained a specialization in Environmental Management and Sustainable Development from the Faculty of International Technology. In 2010, he won a scholarship from the National Arts Foundation (Funarte) to write his first book, ''Terreiro de Makunaima – Myths, Legends and Stories in Experiences'', which was published in 2012. From then on he started to pursue his artistic vocation.

Career

Jaider Esbell played a key role in the movement for institutional acknowledgement of indigenous art, alongside such artists as and Isael Maxakali. And in 2013, when he organised the I Meeting of All Peoples (I Encontro de Todos os Povos), he became the central figure in the consolidation of contemporary indigenous art in Brazil, acting as an artist, curator, writer, educator, activist and cultural producer. In his paintings, texts and installations, he sought to popularise the history and traditions of the

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

through

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

and preserve the ancestral cultural heritage which is being lost due to violence, discrimination and threats to landowning. According to the art critic Leandro Muniz, indigenous imagery and aesthetics are at the basis of Jaider Esbell's work. But in addition to transposing these elements to Western techniques, his paintings reflect Macuxi's ways of thinking in the way they are constructed with superimposed layers, with elements of the past, the present and the future, showing time "as the simultaneity and interaction between the subjective and social, magical and political, a transit between worlds". He had his first solo exhibitions in Normandia and Boa Vista in 2011, and later at the Gustavo Schnoor Gallery of the Rio de Janeiro State University, the Arts Center of the

Federal University of Amazonas The Federal University of Amazonas (, UFAM) is a public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a governm ...

, the Memorial dos Povos Indígenas, Sesc in Boa Vista and the Millan Gallery in

. He participated in group exhibitions that took place at Barbara Hinshaw Gallery (Grove House, US), Espace Philippe Noiret (France), Paço das Artes, the Arts Center of the Fluminense Federal University, the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, the Art Museum of the Federal University of Paraná and the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo. In 2021, he became the highlight of the 34th São Paulo Art Biennial. He was the curator of an exhibition organized in the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art, parallel to the Biennial, titled ''"Moquém-Surarî: contemporary indigenous art"'', which brought together the works of indigenous artists from different peoples. He developed several art-education projects, published multiple books and articles, gave lectures at universities, and participated in debates and collective art actions. He was the winner of the 2016

PIPA Prize PIPA Prize is a Brazilian arts award of the PIPA Institute. From 2010 to 2018, PIPA had a partnership with the Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro, Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro – MAM-Rio. In 2019, the PIPA Prize's exhibition was held ...

and one of the nominees in the 2021 edition.

Death

Jaider was found dead in his

apartment on November 2, 2021.

Biography

Career

Death

References

Further reading