RUSÁ – BraSilian Devotion and Celebration

Opening Reception:  September 12, 6 – 8 PM // On view until 10.05.24

Uncool Gallery is thrilled to announce the inaugural exhibition “Rusá – BraSilian Devotion and Celebration” by Brazilian visual artist and Congadeiro dancer Tiago Aguiar.

Rusá showcases a series of photographic and photo-installation artworks that explore the rich cultural tapestry of the Festa do Rosário, celebrated annually in Serro, Minas Gerais. Recognized as a historical and artistic heritage by IPHAN (National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage). The festival is a vivid display of Brazil’s complex religious and cultural hybridity, incorporating elements of aesthetics, ritual, dance, music, and cultural heritage. By exploring the tradition of portrait photography, Tiago Aguiar employs relational photography, recognizing the sacred in the other and highlighting individual identities within the collective. In a reversed ethnographic process, he values those individuals who are often marginalized outside the festival. Transforming the festival into his studio—whether by creating a tent, setting up a studio, or converting parts of the celebration into a studio—the artist develops a space of community and respect, where the construction of images aims to honor this tradition and recognize the sacred that manifests during the celebration.

Tiago was born in Serro, where he lived and participated in the festival. The exhibition features Aguiar’s body of work from 2016 to 2019, highlighting three central themes: Dançantes, Caravana and Quermesse.

Dançantes: This series presents intimate portraits of festival dancers, captured in a makeshift studio set up in the Rosário neighborhood. The approach reveals personal details and particularities of these individuals often missed, as they are usually viewed, photographed and valued only in a collective context.
Quermesse: Revisiting the tradition of street festival photographers, this series features portraits of festival-goers against a backdrop of the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário, reconnecting the present with historical photographic practices.
Caravana: This series examines the tradition of barraqueiros (itinerant vendors) who travelall around the state of Minas Gerais for different religious festivities, including the one in Serro.

Aguiar reflects on how the festival is in constant transformation while highlighting the historical, iconographic, and expressive potential in the barraqueiro tradition.

The Festa do Rosário is a cornerstone of Brazilian cultural heritage, celebrated with reinados and congados since 1716 in Serro. It culminates in a grand celebration on the first Sunday of July, showcasing Brazil’s rich cultural and religious traditions. “Rusá: braSilian devotion and celebration” offers more than just documentation of a well-known festival. It challenges traditional image-making conventions and offers a nuanced perspective on the cultural and historical significance of the Festa do Rosário, exploring both its past and its evolving present.

Curatorial text by: Cyro Almeida