Olho da Rua [Out Loud]

"Olho da Rua [Out Loud]" is the first solo exhibition of the Brazilian artist Jonathas de Andrade in a German institution. In his installations, photographs and videos, he deals with power dynamics and conflicts, particularly in north-east Brazil and in Recife, where he lives and works. The consequences of colonialism, slavery and modernist culture on Brazilian society play a decisive role. With "Olho da Rua [Out Loud]", the Kunsthalle Münster, taking its responsibility for the works of art in the public space owned by the city of Münster as a basis, is continuing its examination of public space and questions of art and the public sphere in the Stadthausgalerie. At the centre of the exhibition is Andrade's film "Olho da Rua [Out Loud]" (2022), in which Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed meets the streets of Recife, with the public space appearing as a place of community and agitation. For his film, the artist portrayed a temporary community of homeless people living in the city centre of Recife. He invited them to take part in a series of exercises inspired by the Theatre of the Oppressed. For Jonathas de Andrade, public space is a place of great power and energy. People look at each other. They scrutinise each other on the street, which can be a place for encounters, parties, protests and intimate conversations. The street can be lively and at the same time a refuge for people who have no other space than the public one. Jonathas de Andrade (born 1982 in Maceió, Brazil) lives and works in Recife, Brazil. He develops videos, photographs and installations based on the production of images and texts, using strategies that juxtapose fiction and reality, tradition and negotiation with local communities. Based on the artist's interests in social issues, his works incorporate the fields of language and anthropology as aspects that question the notion of truth, power, desire and the social imaginary. Individual exhibitions have included Jonathas de Andrade: Eye-Spark, Maat, Lisbon (2023) and Crac Alsace, France (2022); Pounce and Bounce, Pinacoteca de São Paulo (2023); In the hangover city, Mamam, Recife (2023); Staging Resistance, Foam Amsterdam (2022); One to One, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (2019); The Fish, New Museum, New York (2017); The Power Plant, Toronto (2017); Visiones del Nordeste, Museo Jumex, Mexico City (2017); Museu do Homem do Nordeste, MAR: Museum of Art, Rio de Janeiro (2014–2015). He has also participated in group exhibitions such as the 16th Istanbul Biennial (2019); Artapes, MAXXI: National Museum of XXI Century Arts, Rome (2018); 32nd Sao Paulo Biennial (2016); Unfinished Conversations: New Work from the Collection, The Museum of Modern Art MoMA, New York (2015); and Under the Same Sun: Art from Latin America Today, Guggenheim Museum, New York (2014). In 2022, Jonathas de Andrade presented a solo project for the Brazilian pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale.