Atlas Brasiliensis
The project “Atlas Brasiliensis – a counter-narrative of the Rainforests” questions the colonial imaginary of the Amazon Rainforest and its human and non-human inhabitants, which was shaped by German expeditions in the 19th and early 20th centuries. These narratives persist through collections held in German museums.
We connect institutions in Germany (Munich, Berlin) and the Indigenous community Barserikowi’I – Centro de Medicina Indígena (Manaus) to develop contemporary artistic works that revisit the collections of:
From a decolonial perspective, we highlight Indigenous ontologies through collaboration with Indigenous thinker João Paulo Lima Barreto (Professor of Anthropology at the Federal University of Amazonas – UFAM) and archaeology specialist Ivan Barreto.
In particular, this counter-archive questions the work of Martius by showing how Ye'pa Mahsã (Tukano) Indigenous peoples categorize beings, palm trees, fish, petroglyphs, and artifacts while reflecting on the importance of these collections within museum institutions and their role in the present and future of the Amazon in the face of climate change.
The “Atlas Brasiliensis” is created in the Lithografiewerkstatt in Munich and presents contemporary lithographs by Indigenous thinkers in collaboration with Brazilian artist Anita Ekman and German artist Frauke Zabel, both of whom have long researched the legacy of exploratory journeys to Brazil, such as the one of Martius and Spix, contributing to a decolonial perspective from Brazilian and German context.
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Visit of the Lithografiewerkstatt Münchner Künstlerhaus Stiftung with Raquel Ro, João Paulo Lima Barreto, Anita Ekman and Frauke Zabel -
Collection of birds brought by Spix and Martius, SNSB - Zoologische Staatssammlung München archive -
João Paulo Lima Barreto observes a lithograph from Atlas zur Reise in Brasilien by Martius and Spix -
João Paulo Lima Barreto holds the blue macaw collected by Spix at the SNSB – Zoologische Staatssammlung München archive -
Lithograph of a blue macaw species collected by Spix, named in honor of King Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria
- Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794–1868) & Johann Baptist Spix (1781–1826) – 1817–1820 (Munich)
- Theodor Koch-Grünberg (1872–1924) – 1903–1905, 1924 (Berlin Ethnological Museum)
From a decolonial perspective, we highlight Indigenous ontologies through collaboration with Indigenous thinker João Paulo Lima Barreto (Professor of Anthropology at the Federal University of Amazonas – UFAM) and archaeology specialist Ivan Barreto.
In particular, this counter-archive questions the work of Martius by showing how Ye'pa Mahsã (Tukano) Indigenous peoples categorize beings, palm trees, fish, petroglyphs, and artifacts while reflecting on the importance of these collections within museum institutions and their role in the present and future of the Amazon in the face of climate change.
The “Atlas Brasiliensis” is created in the Lithografiewerkstatt in Munich and presents contemporary lithographs by Indigenous thinkers in collaboration with Brazilian artist Anita Ekman and German artist Frauke Zabel, both of whom have long researched the legacy of exploratory journeys to Brazil, such as the one of Martius and Spix, contributing to a decolonial perspective from Brazilian and German context.
