Vênus da Gamboa
(Interference on images by August Stahl ca. 1885)
Photography
75x100cm
2016

Gamboa is the name of the region where the slave cemetery of Pretos Novos is located in Rio de Janeiro and where the second Mãe Preta exhibition took place. The images show pregnant women photographed in the August Stahl series commissioned by Louis Agassiz in Rio de Janeiro. They are adorned with sea shells and other elements and recontextualize these images once used for race biological studies as a way to honor the enslaved mothers who are buried in the cemetery.