In the work 40 Nego Bom é um real, the young Brazilian artist Jonathas de Andrade tells the story of a sweet. Based on the production process of this nego bom (the name literally means 'good black' and has racial connotations), he shows how in the social, political and ideological reality of Brazilian society, difficult issues are preferably 'forgotten'. His work is based on a variety of historical documentary material.
The installation is inspired by a street vendor promoting his banana sweets at the top of his voice. Like an anthropologist, the artist sketches a fictive sweet factory with forty workers. The work is divided into two parts. Colourful silk prints and paintings on board show people working in apparent harmony on the production of the sweet. The second part consists of pictures of individual workers. The accompanying texts show a less good-humoured picture and expose the false working relationships. Andrade...subtly reveals a racism that is deeply rooted in Brazilian culture. Underneath, this plays a big role in social dynamics and power relations that are often based on camaraderie and politeness.
Andrade based his story and visual idiom on an influential book written in 1933 by the Brazilian sociologist Gilberto Freyre. In Casa Grande e Senzala (The Master and the Slave), Freire describes and illustrates the relationships between colonisers, slaves and Indians in the light of the Brazilian melting pot. This theory is still a leading one today, although it is also controversial, as it 'glosses over' what in fact is a perverse democracy founded on racism.
Entrada actualizada el el 29 sep de 2014
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