March 22 – May 25, 2017
Curator: Stefanie Hessler
Museu de Arte Moderna Aloisio Magalhães (MAMAM)
Recife, Brazil
Artists
Dimen Abdulla, Fia Backström, Francisco Brennand, Paulo Bruscky, Vivian Caccuri, Tyler Coburn, Jonathas de Andrade, Goldin + Senneby, Luiz Guilherme, Katarina Löfström Rivane Neuenschwander, Jean Pierre, Gilvan Samico, Lisa Tan
THE HISTORY OF Recife, the largest metropolitan area of northeastern Brazil and capital of the state of Pernambuco, cannot be told without the history of sugar and labour. Sugarcane originated from Southeast Asia and Melanesia, and was fist introduced to Brazil in 1532, imported by the Portuguese, who intended to expand their cultivations beyond the Atlantic islands. The colony soon became the principal producer of sugar worldwide with the majority of its plantations and mills situated in Pernambuco thanks to its warm climate and fertile soil. Brazil’s role in the sugar trade weakened in the mid-17th century, after the departure of the Dutch governor Mauricio de Nassau and rivalries between the Portuguese tradesmen of Recife and the sugarcane farmers of the neighbouring Olinda that resulted in the Guerra dos Mascates during the early 18th century. The ensuing Caribbean sugar boom, propelled by the expelled Dutch, led to declining rates of exports from Brazil. While the country never ceased to produce sugar, it regained its leading market position only in the 1970s, during the time of “spectacular growth” and endorsed through subsidies for sugar-derived alcohol by the military regime, who aimed to achieve energy independence following the oil embargo—developments that were accompanied by an increased concentration of per- sonal income and social segregation. Fast forward to today, despite forfeited growth since the 2008 financial crisis, Brazil is one of the largest sugar ex- porters and the world’s lowest cost producer.[1]
1. Cf. Donald Mitchell (2004), Sugar Policies: Opportunity for Change, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3222, p.20.
Texts
Exhibition text (full version).link / pdf