São Paulo – Situations such as motherhood, loneliness, mother-daughter relationships and violence permeate the female universe and were photographed by 15 Brazilian artists. The result of their work is on display in Amman, Jordan, in the exhibit “About Women,” which opened on Thursday (21) and will continue until February 09.
The show is taking place at the Fann wa Chai gallery and is the outcome of a project by Renato Negrão, a photographer and professor at art school Escola Panamericana de Arte. He was responsible for showing the artwork to the Brazilian ambassadress in Jordan, Ivana Panizzi, who decided to take the photos to the Arab country and curated the exhibit.
“Very little is known about Brazil here. The launch was a huge success. I didn’t imagine there would be so many people,” Panizzi said in an interview to ANBA. “The exhibit attracts a lot of attention. It’s very creative and diversified, and it had quite an impact because they (the Jordanians) aren’t accustomed to this type of exhibition,” she pondered.
The photos also deal with subjects like family memories, grandfather-granddaughter relationships, domestic life, the past, childhood dreams, freedom and imprisonment. The photographers involved in the project are Alessandra Yoradjian, Aline Baía, Ana Rodrigues, Camila Gil, Carol França, Eli Criva, Giselle Bohnen, Giuliana Camargo, Hérika Bauer, Isa Godoy, Juliana Silvestre, Marcela Marchini, Mônica Assan, Mary Cürry and Valérie Mesquita.
According to the ambassadress, the subjects portrayed in the exhibition about Brazilian women are also part of female reality in Jordan, but they aren’t much discussed. “Everything is more veiled here,” she said. She believes the Brazilian show opens up an important space for Jordanian artists to also be able to showcase their work.
The photographs portraying violence against women, for instance, have been placed in the back of one of the gallery’s rooms, along with a warning that the images can be shocking, but that the women that were portrayed as victims of violence were done so with the use of makeup and didn’t actually suffer any violence. “The photos are very strong. The expressions on the women’s faces are incredible,” she commented.
According to Panizzi, although some woman-related topics are still taboo around those parts, women “are growing into their role in the Muslim world.”
Regarding the exhibition setup, the ambassadress said some 150 photos were taken to Jordan, and since only 40 are on display, she plans on having other exhibits in the country with never-before-seen pictures.
“UN Women is having a short film festival [in Jordan] about the role of women in society today. I believe it’s important for us to show the pictures at the entrance to the festival,” Panizzi said. UN Women is the United Nations arm devoted to fostering gender equality and female empowerment. The festival will take place from March 06 to 13.
Panizzi also intends to take the exhibit to other areas within Jordan. “Including refugee camps. The exhibit will travel a lot around here,” the ambassadress said.
Besides the photo exhibit, Panizzi said she wants to bring other Brazilian attractions to Jordan, such as music- and cuisine-related events. In Brazil, the exhibit will open on March 08, to mark International Women’s Day, in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
About Women Exhibit
Venue: Fann wa Chai Gallery
Address: Kulliyat Al Sharee’ah Street, 25, Amman, Jordan
Open daily from 9am to 11pm
Free admission
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
