Angélica Kariú Kariri

São Luís – MA, 1995

Through their drawings, Angélica Kariú Kariri aims to portray magical and ancient elements of the indigenous peoples of Brazil, guardians of our ancestral wisdom and natural beauty. Their artistic creations evoke ancient charms and legends which surpass the limits of time and beliefs.

Also, as an artist, they seek to “denounce the coronelismo which continues to oppress and kill Black people, indigenous peoples, trans people, lesbians, bisexuals, and non-binary people. However, we will not be silenced! Art hears us, unites us, and transforms. We are the dream of our ancestors, and my art manifests that dream”, they say. “I’m returning to myself and to my ancestors. I return to the roots that strengthen us from under this Earth, rediscovering my indigenous identity, reclaiming my ancient language, and meeting again people who are also on this search in an urban context. Life is a return to the origins.”

Angélica Kariú Kariri has an undergraduate degree in International Relations from the College of Campinas (São Paulo-SP) and a graduate degree in Junguian Art Therapy from Veiga de Almeida University (Rio de Janeiro-RJ). The artist has also taken courses in Xamanism for women and Indigenous Mental Health.

In 2019, they participated in the collective exhibition at the VI Feira de Desenhistas [6th Cartoonist and Illustrator’s Fair]  at Multicenter Sebrae, in São Luís (MA). In 2020, they participated in the Artistic Residency at Kaaysá Art Residency, in Boiçucanga (SP). In 2021, they fought beside more than six thousand indigenous people against the marco temporal* thesis at the Fight for Life Camp and on the 2nd March of Indigenous Women, in Brasília.

*[The marco temporal thesis was a legal maneuver that proposed restrictions on which lands could be claimed by indigenous peoples, based on whether they were already occupied before 1988]

Artworks:

“Demarcação de terra índigenas já!” [“Demarcation of indigenous lands now!”] 2021. Digital drawing.

“Noite quente no Sertão” [“A warm night in the Sertão”]. 2020. Digital drawing.

“Caça e caçadora” [“Prey and hunter”]. 2021. Digital drawing.