Antonio Obá investigates the influence and contradictions within the cultural construction of Brazil, giving rise to an act of resistance and reflection on the idea of national identity.
2023 Biennial Year Find out more
Obá utilizes icons present in Brazilian culture as allusions to racial and political identity, these iconic historical and sometimes religious subjects are explored within his sculpture, painting, installations, and performance. Obá’s own body is central to his research, questioning the eroticization of the black male body and construction of his own identity.
His works have been included in exhibitions such as Path, Oude Kerk, Amsterdam (2022); Antonio Obá: Fables, X Museum, Beijing (2022); Carolina Maria de Jesus, um Brasil para os brasileiros, IMS Paulista, São Paulo (2021); Enciclopédia Negra, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo (2021); TUYMANS – CAHN – OBA, Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection, Paris (2021); Possédées, MO.CO, Montpellier (2020); 36º Panorama da Arte Brasileira, MAM, São Paulo (2019); Histórias Afro-Atlânticas, MASP / Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo (2018).
Liverpool Biennial 2023
'Jardim' (2022)
‘Jardim’, meaning ‘garden’ in Portuguese, invites visitors to follow a path through the work, encouraging active participation through the ringing of the bells.
This interactive installation simulates a hunting or hideout environment – the bells act like bait which call out for us to touch them. By completing this irresistible action, we sound the alarm, giving away our presence and location.
Obá studied hunting environments to create this scenario in which the visitor becomes both the hunter and hunted. It creates an ambiguous situation that is simultaneously an invitation and a trap, attracting us through the seduction of sound, and of music itself.
Courtesy of the artist and Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brussels, New York.
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Antonio Obá, ‘Jardim’, 2022 and Gala Porras Kim ‘Future spaces replicate earlier spaces’, 2023 . Liverpool Biennial 2023 at Victoria Gallery & Museum. Courtesy of Liverpool Biennial. Photography by Mark McNulty
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Antonio Obá, ‘Jardim’, 2022 and Gala Porras Kim ‘Future spaces replicate earlier spaces’, 2023 . Liverpool Biennial 2023 at Victoria Gallery & Museum. Courtesy of Liverpool Biennial. Photography by Mark McNulty
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Liverpool Biennial 2023, uMoya: The Sacred Return of Lost Things. Installation view at Victoria Gallery & Museum. Courtesy of Liverpool Biennial. Photography by Mark McNulty
