Abayomi . Brazilian project with high ecological value, which seeks, through crafts, to increase the self-esteem and value of black women in Brazil ; creating in addition, a political-historical work that represents something absolutely exceptional within Latin American popular art, a characteristic that has differentiated it from other existing projects, maintaining an exclusive artisan technique.
Summary
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- 1 History
- 1 Founder
- 2 Features
- 3 Other information
- 1 Exhibitions
- 4 Notes and references
- 5 Sources
History
It is located in the Santa Teresa neighborhood, [1] in the city of Rio de Janeiro . Its founder thought of making black dolls because most of the dolls in Brazil, and in the world, are blonde. The project could be formed as such in 1988 , and the decision to make black dolls coincided with the commemoration of the centenary of the abolition of slavery in Brazil that year, although it was not formalized as an association until 1994 .
The members of this project are professionals from various branches, who have their meetings to talk about their projections, work, recall processes experienced in history by the Brazilian black woman …, but mostly, the manufacture of the dolls is carried out in their homes. Only Lena, is dedicated all the time to this work. The group is made up of women only, not because they exclude men, but because there has been no one who wants to join them; It is therefore a feminine and feminist organization because it shows inequalities and the lack of opportunities for women, and particularly those with black skin.
The union of several women allowed new ideas to emerge and varieties that remain valid to the present day among them: Flávia Berton created the miniatures, Regina Oliveira managed to make the dolls stand without support; and Sonia Santos, through capoeira, that mix of fighting and dance of African origin, managed to give them more expressiveness. [2] According to the words of one of its members,
The construction, construction, reconstruction of identities, daily spied desires, dreams, empowerment of urban women, of different ages, all of popular classes, militants of social, artistic and cultural movements. We are accompanied in this path by issues of gender, ethnic-racial, art and popular education. Among the multiple meanings that this expression can reach, I understand it as a result of the valorization of experiences. Possibilities of creation, of practices that, as in initiatory rituals – mark of the innumerable Afro-Brazilian cultural and religious manifestations – in which learning / teaching happens in processes of immersion, in doing together, in observation, in exchange playful, mythical and subjective of impressions and knowledge.[3]
The group strengthens the discussions on the history and the tragic consequences that the process of the official slave regime in Brazil brought with it. In 1999 there was a fire at the headquarters of the cooperative, where the entire history of the cooperative was lost, which was reflected in various documents, press archives, photos, videos. In addition, office supplies, musical instruments and a production of 400 dolls were lost.
Foundress
Lena Martins
Valdilena Serra Martins, known as Lena Martins, daughter of a seamstress mother, became an artisan and activist in the movement of black women in Brazil. He was born in 1950 in São Luiz , in the state of Maranhão , in the north of the country, and migrated to Rio de Janeiro at the age of eight.
The first dolls that he invented of this type were in 1987 in the Cidade de Deus neighborhood, [4] (City of God), Rio de Janeiro. Thinking of his children he remembers:
… I was very small, I would sit under the table, playing with the scraps that fell from the cloths that my mother cut to make clothes. [5]
At first she worked alone, perfecting her technique, until another group of friends joined her. For her, her creations represent society, humanity. His main role in the cooperative today is to lead and organize the group, give new ideas and collaborate with sales. He no longer creates as many dolls as at the beginning, due to health problems due to so much manual work. He publishes the children’s book Vida que voa under the seal of the Rio de Janeiro publisher Escrita Fina Edições.
features
The dolls have the peculiarity of being made, without glue or stitching, only recycling waste materials, with ecological intent and without using machines, only scissors; They are made from knots and by winding the strips of fabrics of different colors manually. The colors are a complement that gives more shine to your work, but, in the end, the product must reflect a beautiful, black doll, not another color.
Something also characteristic of her creations is the lack of a defined face, in the opinion of the creator of the project, in Brazil there are many types of black faces and if they put eyes and mouths with certain characteristics, they would be limited to recreating a part of the black society, so it is better for everyone to imagine the face they want. Dolls are created in order to be decorations and not toys. The dimensions of their creations vary, they can be from a few centimeters to use as a pin, up to one and a half meters in height.
His works create a positive image of women and blackness. Trying to contribute to the recognition of Afro-Brazilian identity through playful and creative expressions. Among its varieties can be found: angels, fairies, circus characters such as clowns and trapeze artists ; as well as mythological and folklore characters such as Curupila , Xangô , etc. Groups of them are also created, such as capoeira, which are sets of three or four dolls placed on a wooden base, in positions similar to the practice of this martial art.
Other data
Learning the technique to create these dolls is not easy, it requires up to a year of constant work; the members who leave the group for a while and then return, usually must almost start all over again. As time has passed, it has undergone many changes since its inception, achieving unprecedented aesthetic excellence in Brazil in terms of the creation of rag dolls.
The association also offers courses, workshops, exhibitions and street shows. They organize a workshop in which each participant makes what they call the Abayomi baby . They place the pieces in a circle on the ground and each person expresses their wishes to build a better world while creating their own rag doll. Through their creations and group work, they seek new ways to make people aware of the meaning of being a black woman in Brazil.
In 2000 , they received in the city of Guadalajara , Mexico , an award for successful women granted by the Education Network among Women of Latin America and the Caribbean (REPEM) of Uruguay ; prize that consisted of the publication of a chapter on them in a book. In 2004 , UNESCO held a congress in Brazil and commissioned a thousand dolls from them. The cooperative is a member of the National Network for Reproductive Rights, the Network Against Violence against Women, and the Network of Black Latin Caribbean Women.
Exhibitions
- In 1995 , an exhibition of Abayomi dolls was held in the Popular Artist Room of the Edison Carneiro Museum of Folklore in Rio de Janeiro, one of the most prestigious in the country, and a catalog was also published.
- Ritmos do Brasil, 2000 and 2001 .
- Retalhos do Brasilwith five themes: the everyday , work , the mythological jungle , the sacred and the profane .
