“[O]urs was a struggle not to take power. But to dismantle power altogether. We made presidency an empty seat, a void, a space never to be acquired nor exercised.”
In a speculative address by three performers, Paulo Tavares weaves a story of state repression and environmental destruction from recent histories in South and Central America. Collapsing past, present, and future, Tavares’ transmission highlights the need for movements to shift “do luto à luta” (from mourning to struggle): using remembrance and mourning as fuel for resistance and rebellion.
“Artists-in-Presidents” is initiated by Constance Hockaday, curated by Christine Shaw, and commissioned by The Blackwood (University of Toronto Mississauga). Podcast production by Vocal Fry.
Transmissions are released every Friday from August 6–December 17, 2021. To view the portrait gallery, access ASL videos and transcripts, and for additional information about the project, visit www.artistsinpresidents.com and www.blackwoodgallery.ca.
Paulo Tavares is an architect, writer, and educator. He is the author of Forest Law (2014), Des-Habitat (2019), and Memória da terra (2020), and runs the spatial advocacy agency autonoma. He teaches spatial and visual cultures at the University of Brasília in Brazil.
Speech delivered by arquivo mangue (camila mota and cafira zoé) and Cyro Morais
Song credit: Excerpted soundtrack from Terra em Transe (Dir: Glauber Rocha), 1967.
Photo: Pedro Pinho
