How Brazilian cannibals captured Western thinking, devoured and digested it.
Brazil’s national identity is based on a mix of ethnicities, which makes Brazilians hard to recognise on the basis of just their appearance. Although Brazilian culture is also a mix, the resulting images and sounds are often unmistakably Brazilian. Clichéd examples include Rio de Janeiro’s carnival and Bossa Nova. Colonial history (Western perspectives and conceptualisation) is one of the ingredients in this mix. How did these typically Western ideas and concepts end up in Brazil, why were they retained and what did the Brazilians subsequently do with them? And; what can we, as Westerners, do with this? Joris Lindhout and Maaike Gouwenberg are attempting to find answers to these questions in Brazilian cinema, literature, theatre, art and other cultural expressions. On 26-10-2012 they will share their findings so far as part of No More Westerns.
Maaike Gouwenberg works as curator for Expodium, If I can’t Dance and W139, among others. She is founder of A.P.E., through which she organizes international performance projects.
Joris Lindhout is a visual artist. His interest in the obscure is expressed in zines, murals, reading- and discussion groups and the Departement of Misdemeanor, Myth and Monstruosity (currently under development).