© Rosângela Rennó, Scorpion, 1998. From the series: Vulgo [Alias], 1998-1999
Fotomuseum Winterthur Grüzenstrasse 44+45 CH-8400 Zürich Suisse
Brazilian society seems to be pressing forward with devouring strength, systematically forgetting the memory of the past.
Brazilian artist Rosângela Rennó tries to fight against this collective loss of memory by appropriating found albums and photographs from private and public archives.
The use of appropriation to counter the loss of memory is a driving force in the work of Rosângela Rennó. It is a form of fighting collective repression and a future that is void of a past; appropriation is a means of combating emptiness, the vacuum in the kickback of the motor of the future. In her own way Rennó seems to operate as a tracker.
© Rosângela Rennó, Apagamento #2 (caixa) [Erasure #2 (box)], 2005
Her works can be read as a repositioning of Appropriation Art in a political and cultural context. Tending towards the three-dimensional, the sculptural, and installation, the works suggests Rennó’s desire to show this amnesia in the most physical manner possible.
© Rosângela Rennó, Rogério Reis, Yashica Mat, From the project: A última foto (The last photo), 2006
Her found objects do not always have an immediately obvious cultural significance; sometimes they are “merely” Frutos estranhos (Strange Fruits). But they always take the form of politically aware cultural archaeology, inspired by the determined attempt to establish a visual anthropology of Latin America.
Vignette : © Rosângela Rennó, Scorpion, 1998. From the series: Vulgo [Alias], 1998-1999