PAULO NAZARETH: IDENTITY AND THE FIGURE OF THE MOTHER IN VALLADOLID

The Museo Patio Herreriano presents Ora pro nobis, the first institutional exhibition in Spain devoted to Paulo Nazareth (Governador Valadares, Brazil, 1977). Curated by Juan José Santos Mateo, the exhibition centers on the creation of a new installation featuring the rose cactus, a plant native to Minas Gerais, the region from which the artist originates. The species grew around churches, and its leaves were gathered and consumed by worshippers during sermons, giving rise to two popular names: ora pro nobis and carne de pobres (“meat of the poor”).

From this dichotomy, the artist presents, in another gallery of the museum, a selection of works that bring together the political and the spiritual through humor and satire. This section focuses on the figure of the mother, a form of recognition that becomes particularly evident in the photographic series Bocotudos Heritage. In the series, Ana Gonçalves da Silva, Nazareth’s mother, appears alongside exoticising portraits of Krenak people, an Indigenous ethnic group to which both she and the artist belong.

Along the same lines, Museo de la Madre (MAMA) is also worthy of mention. This collaborative project and artistic installation was created to compile drawings, writings, and portraits dedicated to mothers. The work simultaneously operates as a monument, an archive, and a space of homage, while also serving as a means of recognizing and paying tribute to the mothers of those who encountered the installation in other locations and to those of its present visitors, thereby reinforcing its affective and collective dimension.

Paulo Nazareth: Ora pro nobis is on view until 14 February 2027 at the Museo Patio Herreriano, Jorge Guillén, 6, Valladolid, Spain.