RED DIRT / RED BRICKS

Pedro Motta (b. 1977, Belo Horizonte) will discuss the project he is undertaking in New York which underscores the shift in his photographic practice from a documentary to a sculptural approach. Prevalent themes of decaying cities, constructions and natural elements address the convergence between precarity, landscape and architecture. Represented by Luisa Strina Gallery in Sao Paolo, Pedro Motta has exhibited extensively in Brazil, most recently at Centro de Arte Hélio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro; Centro cultural Sao Paolo CSP , Sao Paolo and Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia – MAM/BA. Internationally, his work has been featured among others at the 2nd Bucharest Biennale, Bucharest (Romania); 5th International Biennial of Photography; Visual Arts, Liège (Belgium) and Contemporary Brazilian Photography, Neue Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin.

In the summer 2010, Zachari Fabri (b, 1977 Miami) did a residency at JA.CA. During this time, he decided to work with red dirt (Bauxite) and realized the video “Mim Andar Avenida Canada”. Bauxite is a prevalent mineral in the soil of the region that yields aluminium when mined. Bauxite is also to be found in Jamaica and Hungary, the countries where Fabri’s parents are from. Prevalent in every person’s life in Jardim Canadá, red dirt is essentially a unifying factor regardless of economic standing.

Focusing on video and performance, Fabri’s work seeks to create a space for discourse around social and political systems of oppression. His work often responds to a specific environment or context. His work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally most recently at Galerie Open in Berlin. Other venues include the Sequences Real-time Festival, Reykjavik, Iceland; Nordic Biennale: Momentum, Moss, Norway; NabLab, Chicago; and the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, New York. He has performed at Real Art Ways, Hartford; Jersey City Museum; English Kills Gallery, Brooklyn; and Winkleman Gallery, New York.

Francesca Caporali is an artist and co-founder of the Center for creation and artistic development Jardim Canadá Centro de Arte e Tecnologia. JA.CA is located in the neighborhood of Jardim Canadá (metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte), bordered on one side by the city and on the other by the natural reserve Parque Estadual Serra de Rola-Moça. JA.CA fosters the production of technology and new media art, and its recently created residency program welcomes Brazilian and international artists for two-month residencies, providing travel, accommodation, studio space, and production assistance.

A conversation between RU artists Pedro Motta from Belo Horizonte (Brazil) and Zachary Fabri from New York as they share their residency experiences in New York and Belo Horizonte with Francisca Caporali, director of Jardim Canadá Art and Technology Center (JA.CA), Belo Horizonte.
Date: Tuesday April 12th: 6.30-8pm
Location:
360 Court Street, Brooklyn , NY 11231 (subway F/G Carroll street, President Street exit)
Church entrance through green door.

Pedro Motta and Zachary Fabri’s residencies are made possible through the exchange program between Residency Unlimited and JA.CA. In addition, Zachary Fabri’s residency at JA.CA was set within Residency Unlimited’s partnership with Harlem Biennale organization in New York.