Paraíso

Paraíso uses the iconography and fantasy of Brazil as a vehicle to explore the myth of a "racial paradise".

Of the 9.5 million people captured in Africa and brought to the New World between the 16th and 19th centuries, nearly 4 million landed in Rio, 10 times more than all those sent to the United States.

The duality and differences in historical events, when looking at African-Americans versus Afro-Brazilians have led to how both countries think and create legislation around race today. For too long, Brazil has been touted as a “postracial paradise”, further alienating both Black communities from learning and progressing together. But who is Brazil a paradise for? The normality of black invisibility and a strong myth of racial democracy has only resulted in a paradise for white supremacy. By exploring three commonalities within the diaspora (the symbol of water, religion/ceremony, and the color white), this work aims to emphasize that Black solidarity should have no borders.