Abdias do Nascimento: Eco-Spirituality and Art

Abstract:

Abdias do Nascimento, a Brazilian scholar and activist whose body of work embraces the eco-spiritual significance of Afro- Brazilian religious practices, believed that “African spirituality offers an approach to life and nature that speaks directly and clearly to the world of feelings inside all of us”. Nascimento`s art was mainly expressed through a political- cultural lens towards a deeper appreciation of the various African influences in Brazilian art. He also focused on Orixás as expressions of the otherworldly connections between beings and the biosphere. Through analyses of selected paintings, this paper illustrates connections between deities as forces of nature and Matriz Africana practitioners against the backdrop of dire ecological concerns.

Bio:

Zainabu Jallo is a Post-Doctoral Researcher and lecturer in Anthropology at the Universities of Basel and Bern, Switzerland.