The Afro-Colombian journalist and researcher Cristian Baena Cera writes about the implications of the ocean, the racial text and the discussion about colonialism in the Mexican scene from The Ocean is the Axis, curated by Igor Simões for the Mariane Ibrahim gallery in Ciudad de Mexico.

Art can function as a language that surpasses the ability to communicate words, sounds and symbols. Its messages do not hide lies, but rather reveal the deepest pains and stories that the traditional system seeks to avoid. The stories represented in some of the works in this collective exhibition aim to recognize the need to bring that enslaving past to this present that is dying and demands reparation, but that also embodies feelings and colonial actions—whose structural practices, more than being day-to-day, remain alive. Through the dialogue between the works in the room, art becomes a new map, where colonial routes are reinvented and silenced stories find their voice. The “The Ocean is the Axis” exhibition, curated by Igor Simões at Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, Mexico City, is a journey into the depths of memory through the symbolic power of the ocean, proposed by works by racialized artists from Brazil from the 20th and 21st centuries. The axis, that line that can be many things, runs through us and intercepts us with the vast canvas of history. The ocean, a being in motion that has been a path of broken promises and shipwrecked lives, is a liquid corridor that weaves stories of encounters and disagreements. The waves, silent witnesses that have carried with them the echoes of a colonial past, whisper stories of conquests and submissions, of violent encounters between the old and the new world.

With the mission of representing contemporary African art and its diaspora, this gallery—which, since 2023, landed in Mexico City—was the setting for the exhibition. On this occasion, the installation features a selection of artists whose voices expose realities that are more than human and diverse. This is an important gesture, as it proposes new dialogues in a city where multiple subjectivities coexist, which still needs to explore the gaze towards Afrodiasporic perspectives. Perhaps these movements coming from different cardinal points will end up awakening the need to talk about black roots in Mexico and, with this, question the history told and the representation of these population groups in the country. The exhibition featured a diverse range of media and approaches ranging from painting, sculpture and pottery to installation and video art. Simões' curatorial approach assumes a historical responsibility by expanding the means of exhibition and, at the same time, raising awareness of the way a story can be communicated from different perspectives. Each artist and their work converse with each other, regardless of technique or time. It is about healing through stories that give us signs of the society in which we have lived, where art surrounds us like a lost spirit that reverberates between walls and spaces, claiming that there is still a historical debt for the recognition of ancestral knowledge, religious practices, symbols and linguistic processes. These are links that have survived over time in a society that seeks to standardize human behavior from the civilizing thought of whiteness.

The title of the exhibition invites us to consider the ocean not only as a vast body of water, but also as a central axis in our societies and how these have become interconnected as a primordial force that influences culture, ecology and the human psyche. Simões, a curator known for his innovative approach and ability to connect contemporary themes with historical artistic practices, has managed to bring together a series of works that explore these dimensions from different angles. This exhibition shows the power of racial mixing, of artistic and political ideas that have been formulated in Brazil by artists who are not afraid of politics, but who do not separate themselves from contemplative pieces based on inherited concepts, such as anti-racist thought and social movements that reclaim Afro memory. This healing spirit is what the exhibition invokes. In the case of Rubem Valentim (1922 -1991), at the time, he found a way to create a distinctive vocabulary composed of geometric abstraction and the development of compositions that incorporated symbols and references to his cultural roots, as well as religious figures, adopting a language far from the common places in the face of the current trends of that time.

On the other hand, the curator's vision and his intention to recover the history of art from the perspective of Afro-diasporic artists is a necessary offering to immerse ourselves in the racial history of Brazil and the influence of the diaspora in the construction of historical narratives. In the field of contemporary Afro-Brazilian art, a vibrant and multifaceted expression is manifested that defies technical classifications. Although their roots are in Brazil, these works transcend borders by addressing universal experiences related to art and the African diaspora. When I saw Valentim's work, I thought of Carybe as a counterexample of the time, and I can certainly link it to the work of the artist Esther Mahlangu, which has been located in the traditional mural painting of the South African Ndebele people. In her work, she has managed to create a living semiotic narrative of her culture, between the original Ndebele aesthetics and the creation of an affinity between architecture, design and symbolism within her work, which represents part of the cultural heritage of her people.

At the start of the exhibition, the work of Dalton Paula—an artist who was recently awarded the CHANEL Next Prize—focuses on those individuals who have remained invisible in the history of Brazil. Discover in archives, documents and photographs, a world of stories to explore the representations of black Brazilian bodies of the African diaspora, from the colonial era to the present. The use of portraits is and will continue to be a political tool that has shown us the corporality of power. Today, this figure is revalued from the analog, the pictorial and the digital perspectives to transform those nuances of representation and power. Which brings a new chapter in individual self-recognition of who we are and the power that image exerts on people.

The Ocean is the Axis is an exhibition that combines a profound aesthetic sensibility with a critical reflection on the state of the natural world. Igor Simões' curatorship and the selection of works at the Mariane Ibrahim Gallery strike a balance between admiration for the beauty of the ocean, which acutely imbues awareness of the challenges faced by human interconnections, from ecological, political and social perspectives. The exhibition not only offers a visual and sensory experience, but also encourages us to think more deeply about our place in the world and our responsibility towards it. Simões has a remarkable ability to establish a dialogue between culture and the context in which the exhibition is presented. He considers cultural and social tone when developing his curatorship, allowing him to create exhibitions that are relevant both locally and globally. This approach contextualizes the works and facilitates a greater understanding and impact on the viewer. Exhibitions curated by Simões often incorporate elements that create an immersive experience between the work and the viewer. This can include interactive installations that take us around the site, where the arrangement of light and the design of spaces engage visitors physically and emotionally.

On the other hand, Agrade Camiz confronts us with an urban and architectural landscape: day-to-day and intimate scenes that speak to us of emotions and corporality. The symbolism of metal fences is placed in dialogue with the heart symbol, which derives from Adrinka symbols—traditional in Ghana and echoed in Brazil. There are several landscapes that come together and give a nod to the colonial influence on the development of architecture in the Caribbean and ironwork in black communities. Her work also invites us to rethink the dialogues around security and the barriers between communities and the basic needs for living.

Interweaving the work of Agrade Camiz with that of Rebeca Carapia is essential, precisely because of the feeling of materiality and the language that stands out in the work of both. Topografias da mare soterrada IX, Topografias da mare soterrada XIX (2021) and Mare Cheia 1 (2023), are the works with which Carapia participates. We are asked to pay close attention to the symbols that are created in a chain, while the pieces are held horizontally and vertically, transforming the way of reading a landscape into a text. Both artists find in metal an element that complements or defines their work, which allows them to question its form and content in the exhibition. Both Camiz and Carapia propose an alternate world, analyzing language and its meanings based on materials, questioning the meaning of precariousness and the violence imposed on racialized bodies, a constant of the systematic violence of racial oppression. Here, we find the polysemy of metal singing its own epic poem in an artistic, ancient and reverberant language.

Seeing No Martins' black and white work connected me with many processes and experiences as an Afro-Caribbean person. Regras do Jogo (2023) marks a traditional scenario of hegemony, making present its intention to question the centrality of power in the few hands and bodies that share a similar class, race and gender. The artist shows us through colorism one of the structural layers of access to rights and represents the black population of Brazil, the largest outside of Africa. In the depth of the exhibition, Lidia Lisboa presents us with sculptural bodies with textures inspired by termite mounds. This dialogue between unity and community is what is made present when interpreting the codes we encounter along the way. The artist sees femininity as a symbol of creation and strength through large crocheted pieces that hang suspended and whose arrangement allows us to observe their shapes and colors: diverse nuances of humanity and the human figure as an agent of transformation and destruction are manifested at the same time.

Simões stands out for addressing global and contemporary themes in his exhibitions. His approach is not limited to a specific artistic style or geographical region, but rather explores universal issues affecting today's society. This allows his exhibitions to resonate with a diverse and global audience. Thus, this exhibition, by being shown especially in Mexico City, managed to create an idea about Brazilian art for locals, bringing them closer to the structural problems that we share as a continent, emerging as a wave that, when breaking on the shore, not only renews history, but also creates a new narrative about identity and power. I am finding many warnings during this tour; the exhibition immerses me in different ecosystems that communicate different urgencies, but in the end, they reach the same point: from otherness, the lack of awareness suffocates us.

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