Claudia Andujar Posted on 21st June 202114th June 2022 by nr NR · WORLDOnline Feature · Claudia AndujarWords · Izzy Bilkus Andujar often applied Vaseline to her camera lens, used flash devices, infrared film, and oil lamps to create visual distortions The Barbican’s latest exhibition explores the work of Claudia Andujar, a Swiss-born Brazilian photographer and activist who has spent her life documenting and defending the Yanomami, one of Brazil’s largest indigenous peoples. Through a collection of over 200 photographs, an audio-visual installation, and a series of drawings by the Yanomami, the exhibition explores Andujar’s relationship with the Yanomami that spanned five decades, and details periods of direct activism amongst the indigenous communities. The exhibition is housed in The Curve, featuring powerful photographs from Andujar’s first six years living with the Yanomami and explores how the photographer used her camera as a tool to drive political change. At a time when the Yanomami’s territory and way of life is being threatened from continued illegal mining and the spread of Covid-19, the exhibition holds particular significance: it shows how Andujar dealt with visually interpreting a complex culture, and how her art serves to amplify the voices and struggles of the Yanomami. From the start of her career documenting the Yanomami in the 1970s, Andujar’s photographic approach differed greatly from the traditional documentary style of her contemporaries. The photographs she took during this period experiment with a range of techniques to visually translate the shamanic and ritualistic culture of the Yanomami. Andujar often applied Vaseline to her camera lens, used flash devices, infrared film, and oil lamps to create visual distortions of light streaks and saturated colours that imbue her work with an ethereal quality. The exhibition also features a series of more sober black-and-white portraits of the Yanomami that focus closely on their faces and bodies, using an intense chiaroscuro to create a strong sense of intimacy. By the late 1970s, Andujar had reached a pivotal point in her career. With the Amazon region opened to deforestation and invasive agricultural programs, entire Yanomami communities were destroyed. Andujar deepened her commitment to the Yanomami struggle, and in 1978 she helped found the ‘Commissão Pro-Yanomani’ and began a campaign to protect their homeland. Andujar’s artistic career at this point was abandoned in favour of using photography solely to raise awareness for the cause. As a photojournalist and a European, Andujar’s project is still a complex one: it cannot be wholly separated from the history of the colonial gaze on indigenous people. Yet it is clear that she has been welcomed by the Yanomami – films, drawings and texts by the community leader Davi Kopenawa throughout the exhibition demonstrate. It is without a doubt that Andujar’s work powerfully captures the struggles of the indigenous peoples and delivers both a unique peek into the lives and worldview of the Yanomami and a potent condemnation of the violence enacted on them. ‘Claudia Andujar: The Yanomami Struggle’ is on at the Barbican Centre until 29th August. Discover more here barbican.org.uk About Founded in London in 2016, NR is an independent bi-annual print publication dedicated to showcasing diverse content in the realms of art, culture, design, fashion, music and beyond. Based in Milan since 2021, NR aims at providing in print and online, an archive of features and conversations between emerging and established creatives with a focus on empowering voices. Through the exploration of themes that transcend boundaries, challenge norms, and inspire change, NR aims to elevate the cultural conversation and celebrate the beauty of creativity in all its forms.Creative Director Jade Removille Editor-in-ChiefJade Removille Graphic DesignCountersubjectContributing writersNicola BarrettMariana BerezovskaAndrea BrattaEllie BrownMatthew BurgosKayla Curtis-EvansCassidy GeorgeBilly De LucaJuule KayDara KhakpourArielle Lana LeJardeLindsey OkuboLorenzo OttoneJade RemovilleFederico SargentoneSara van Bussel Distribution New Distribution HouseWhiteCirc Ltd Distribution Enquiriesinfo@nr.world Publisher NR World Explore InstagramSoundcloudResident AdvisorArchiveNR 17NR 16NR 15 StoreContact Stockists Boutique MagsWorld Magazines, SeoulTerminal 27, Los AngelesAssembly, New YorkVillage Books, LeedsVillage Books, ManchesterDover Street Market, LondonGood News, LondonMagCulture, LondonShreeji News, LondonNews & Coffee, BarcelonaOdd Kiosk, BarcelonaIMS, HasseltCowgirl Gallery, MalmöOFR, ParisPalais de Tokyo, ParisRosa Wolf, Berlin Avril50, PhiladelphiaBrot Books, BratislavaDorbeetle, Hangzhou © NR 2022 All Rights ReservedNR is the property of NR WORLD S.r.l. Made with sustainability in mind, nr.world is cleaner than 70% of web pages testedLegal About Founded in London in 2016, NR is an independent bi-annual print publication dedicated to showcasing diverse content in the realms of art, culture, design, fashion, music and beyond. Based in Milan since 2021, NR aims at providing in print and online, an archive of features and conversations between emerging and established creatives with a focus on empowering voices. Through the exploration of themes that transcend boundaries, challenge norms, and inspire change, NR aims to elevate the cultural conversation and celebrate the beauty of creativity in all its forms.Creative Director Jade Removille Editor-in-ChiefJade Removille Graphic DesignCountersubjectContributing writersNicola BarrettMariana BerezovskaAndrea BrattaEllie BrownMatthew BurgosKayla Curtis-EvansCassidy GeorgeBilly De LucaJuule KayDara KhakpourArielle Lana LeJardeLindsey OkuboLorenzo OttoneJade RemovilleFederico SargentoneSara van Bussel Distribution New Distribution HouseWhiteCirc Ltd Distribution Enquiriesinfo@nr.world Publisher NR World Explore InstagramSoundcloudResident AdvisorArchiveNR 17NR 16NR 15 StoreContact Stockists Boutique MagsWorld Magazines, SeoulTerminal 27, Los AngelesAssembly, New YorkVillage Books, LeedsVillage Books, ManchesterDover Street Market, LondonGood News, LondonMagCulture, LondonShreeji News, LondonNews & Coffee, BarcelonaOdd Kiosk, BarcelonaIMS, HasseltCowgirl Gallery, MalmöOFR, ParisPalais de Tokyo, ParisRosa Wolf, Berlin Avril50, PhiladelphiaBrot Books, BratislavaDorbeetle, Hangzhou © NR 2022 All Rights ReservedNR is the property of NR WORLD S.r.l. Made with sustainability in mind, nr.world is cleaner than 70% of web pages testedLegal
