Homem Selvagem (Savage Man)
Discover the visual study by artist Ricardo Aleixo that investigates the emotional relationships of Afro-indigenous men in society
By Museu da Diversidade Sexual
Corpo Sobre Tela Collective
Homem Selvagem - Rastros de Diógene - 01 (2023) by Ricardo Aleixo and Coletivo Corpo Sobre TelaMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
Homem Selvagem - Sequence: Traces of Diógenes
The exhibition Homem Selvagem (Savage Man) is based on a record of the body in contemplation with nature through the language of portraiture and self-portraiture, unfolding into a reflection on the Afro-indigenous body and the hypersexuality attributed to it through stereotyped signs.
Homem Selvagem - Rastros de Diógene - 02 (2023) by Ricardo Aleixo and Coletivo Corpo Sobre TelaMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
Homem Selvagem
The work is the result of a visual study by artist and cinematographer Ricardo Aleixo (@ricardo.aleixo), whose premise is the affective relationship of Afro-indigenous men in society, bringing up the question:
"Is a black man capable of love?"
Homem Selvagem - Rastros de Diógene - 03 (2023) by Ricardo Aleixo and Coletivo Corpo Sobre TelaMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
The process takes place from an Afrocentric perspective
in a cultural and affective relationship, to counter the social stereotypes attributed to their bodies.
Homem Selvagem - Rastros de Diógene - 04 (2023) by Ricardo Aleixo and Coletivo Corpo Sobre TelaMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
Homem Selvagem - Bruno Gomes 06 (2023) by Ricardo Aleixo and Coletivo Corpo Sobre TelaMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
Homem Selvagem - Sequence: Bruno Gomes
Homem Selvagem - Bruno Gomes 07 (2023) by Ricardo Aleixo and Coletivo Corpo Sobre TelaMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
Homem Selvagem - Sequence: Traces of Diógenes
Homem Selvagem - Sequência: Ricardo Aleixo - 01 (2023) by Ricardo Aleixo and Coletivo Corpo Sobre TelaMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
Homem Selvagem - Sequence: Ricardo Aleixo
The visual research was born in the rural area of Morro do Coco, in the municipality of Campos de Goytacazes. The inanimate scenery is combined with the expression of the artist's naked body, but not a sexualized body, but a contemplative one, immersed in nature.
The initial proposal was to record inanimate figures at night in the rural area of Morro do Coco, imprinting the local plasticity. The inclusion of the animated figure, with photographer Ricardo Aleixo, arose from the need to immerse himself in the scenery as a way of contemplating the environment that is the cradle of his family roots.
Homem Selvagem - Rastros de Diógene - 10 (2023) by Ricardo Aleixo and Coletivo Corpo Sobre TelaMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
The essay captures a single moment that was constituted in several moments by the long exposure time, recording the nocturnal plasticity of a rural location and my contemplation with nature that is the result of the acceptance of my body and deconstruction of aesthetic standards, stereotypes that feed issues such as; the black man and his potential to love.
Homem Selvagem - Sequência: Ricardo Aleixo - 11 (2023) by Ricardo Aleixo and Coletivo Corpo Sobre TelaMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
Is a black man capable of love?
"The exposure of my naked body forced me to shed my clothes as a way of belonging and connecting with nature, and as a result I reflected on and accepted my body in front of an image-recording device, the camera."
Homem Selvagem - Bruno Gomes 12 (2023) by Ricardo Aleixo and Coletivo Corpo Sobre TelaMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
What man is not capable of love?
And why the black man as the focus of this question?
In Brazil, the majority of the black population is made up of 53.6% men and women who face inequalities, starting with income: among the poorest 10% of the country's population, 76% are black. Among the richest 1%, only 17.4% are black.
It's nothing more than racial selection based on genetic load
A picture of lack of opportunity that marks a young country that 135 years ago signed the law abolishing slavery on May 13, 1888. Brazil was the last country to leave the slave labor force as a field of market treatment and followed the flawed practice of eugenics.
With the aim of whitening the population
This process was marked by public policies, the opening up of the labor market to foreigners from the old continent in search of refuge, new opportunities to get away from a post-war scenario and misery.
Homem Selvagem - Sequência: Rastros de Diógenes - 14 (2023) by Ricardo Aleixo and Coletivo Corpo Sobre TelaMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
Does the black man love?
Let's take this information and narrow it down to the initial question. Let's rephrase the question to: Does the black man have time to love? To discover love? Does his condition and upbringing provide him with the basis to express these feelings?
Would he allow himself to say "I love you" without ever having heard or seen it from a paternal figure? What example would a black boy have at home with a non-existent father? This issue is not just a question of desires or the expression of a feeling, but it does paint a social picture.
Any topic that is tackled must be carefully understood. Many problematizations arise and conclude with a superficial analysis, a critique that sees the tip of the iceberg and not the root of the issue. We are experiencing a domino effect that stems from the stereotyping of black men's and women's bodies, such as the case of Sarah Baartman, a black woman from South Africa, who was taken to Europe and turned into an attraction because of her physical, genetic characteristic, which is the proportion of her buttocks.
Homem Selvagem - Sequência: Rastros Diógenes - 13 (2023) by Ricardo Aleiro and Coletivo Corpo Sobre TelaMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
Where are the men?
The majority of the peripheries are made up of black people and their homes are run by women. Where are the men? Well, that's a sad statement. But a black man is 8 times more likely to be a victim of homicide in Brazil than a white man.
After abolition, black people freed from slavery faced an exclusionary reality. They were not given opportunities for training, education or work, because black men and women had become obsolete; there was no social interest, much less a policy of inclusion, but rather exclusion. The black man, once seen as a valuable commodity, gains his freedom with borders. This condition has resulted in problems that have been expressed for more than a hundred years.
The black population is more susceptible to violence, as described by the 2016 violence map, which shows that from 2003 to 2014, the number of homicides of white people by firearms fell by 26.1%, while the number of homicides of black people increased by 46.9%. According to Atlas, Black people are more than twice as likely to be murdered in Brazil; this group represents 77% of homicide victims in 2021.
Homem Selvagem - Sequência: Rastros de Diógenes - 15 (2023) by Ricardo Aleixo and Coletivo Corpo Sobre TelaMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
How can we demand that man express love?
If he is seen as an object of sexual appreciation, an exotic object with no paternal reference, he is induced from childhood into a macho, stereotyped practice of the alpha male fornicator. This stigma permeates the hetero and gay universe.
Homem Selvagem - Sequência: Rastros de Diógenes - 16 (2023) by Ricardo Aleixo and Coletivo Corpo Sobre TelaMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
This is a reflection of social inequality!
Since we live in a society of veiled and structural racism.
THE BLACK MAN IS CAPABLE OF LOVE, THE BLACK MAN LOVES, BUT OFTEN DOESN'T SURVIVE IN TIME TO BE LOVED.
In this way, the photographic proposal aims to disseminate and bring the artist's knowledge, experience and creative process closer to the public through photographic language, to counter the scenario of erasure of Afro-indigenous bodies.
MANIFESTO, ESSAY - CAN BLACK MEN LOVE?
Coletivo Corpo Sobre Tela
Artist: Ricardo Aleixo
Executive Producer: RA Produção e Multimídia
Directed by: Corpo Sobre Tela Collective
Production: Camilla Lima
Production Design and Direct Sound: Luan Drummond
Design: Matheus Lima
Audio description actor: Alan Rocha
Proofreading: Joyce Pimentel Costa
Models: Bruno Gomes; Rastros de Diógenes; Ricardo Aleixo
