Galería Zielinsky is pleased to present “Muquiranas”, a solo show by João Farkas, during Barcelona Gallery Weekend 2020, a must-visit event of the artistic scene of the city. Frakas presents, in his first solo show at the gallery, a series of photographs from the series “Muquiranas”, his most recent research carried out at the Carnival of Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.
João Farkas has been documenting for more than 30 years the relationship between society and its context, either through the registration of popular costumes, culture and festivity, as well as through the registration of landscapes and the impacts caused by the human existence in some regions of Brazil. In the series of portraits “Muquiranas”, Farkas documents the collective creative processes between costumes and common patterns of the Carnival of Salvador de Bahía, Brazil. Men dress as women during the days of the festival, a common practice since Carnival became a great popular celebration starting in the 19th century. In different parts of Brazil, groups of men disguised like this for the holidays proliferate, “Muquiranas”, the largest and most traditional group, has gathered around four thousand people since 1965. For three days the men dance frantically and assume another identity in the streets from the city. In the spirit of satire, joking and playing with oneself, this behavior defies games and social conventions, as well as representing a moment of freedom that is characteristic of Brazilian Carnival.
The current series refers to the works carried out in previous years during Carnival in the city of Maragojipe, in the interior of Bahia. There, all the disguised - men, women and children - hide behind the multicolored costumes and masks, the characters are anonymous and have faced the photographer who tries to discover through the image that “other” present in a crowd. In Muquiranas, on the other hand, the men disguise themselves to be seen and not to hide, all are gathered in a collective body that allows, at least on the days of the celebration, to incorporate an attitude of otherness compared to the other days of common life.
The exhibition opens on September 17 from 11am to 8pm and can be visited until November 6, 2020. We encourage those interested to make an appointment in advance to make the visit more personalized and comfortable. To protect our visitors and staff, and mitigate exposure to COVID-19, face coverings are required for entry and must be worn at all times. Capacity will be limited and visitors must maintain proper social distance.
