Magic in Magenta

«In the morning, I hear them laughing, calling out happily, conversing, singing. At night, when it’s dark, they retire to hammocks and then it continues again for hours: laughing, discussing with one another» These were the impressions photographer Claudia Andujar recorded during her stay in the Amazon region. Now, the recordings she made (Catrimani, 1974, 12 min.) are available in English as a part of the «Claudia Andujar: The Yanomami Struggle» exhibit.

When I enter the exhibition rooms, both the space and the images therein conjure an odd sensation inside me. I was just in my office, but here I’m transported to a different world, one that’s almost magical. It takes the form of Claudia Andujar’s experimental methodologies the medium of photography. The Amazon rainforest of northern Brazil glows in magenta, the leaves of sweet potato plants surrounding a Yanomami communal house are a fiery yellow-orange. These haunting colors were created using infrared film. And what about those the black-and-white prints, which were accidentally double-exposed? The effect is enchanting: hands appear in dense verdant green, body parts contort into gnarled branches, faces overlap to form fragmented countenances à la Picasso.

Fascination with shamanic culture

Claudia Andujar (née Haas) was born in Neuchâtel in 1931, and has dedicated herself to the indigenous Yanomami community for more than fifty years. After her parents separated when she was young, and her father’s Jewish family were murdered in Nazi death camps, Andujar fled with her mother to Brazil. After studying humanities and a brief marriage to a Spaniard, she began a life as a photojournalist in São Paulo.

Soon, her fascination with Yanomami shamanic culture started to take physical form, both in photographs and illustrated books. Her interest in spiritual rituals culminated in the 1970s in a series of sensitive portraits and a project she initiated that consisted of Yanomami drawings. This excerpt from a recording captures her realization of how she was perceived: «I’ve only recently learned that they call us non-indigenous the ‹Angry Ones›. They seem to think that we’re increasingly angry, because we often speak to one another in loud voices, and we seem to carry a certain tension in our bodies that they pick up on».

From artist to activist

As the Yanomami’s habitat became increasingly threatened in the 1970s, the photographer committed herself to the fight for the rights of the indigenous people, increasingly putting her artistic ambitions on hold in favor of political activism. She joined the community, cultivating close relationships with the people in it. In 1978, Andujar founded an NGO with a group of activists, in order to advocate for the Yanomami’s rights and land. She traveled the globe in the 1980s with a Yanomami shaman and spokesperson to draw international attention to their plight. Her years-long efforts eventually led to the demarcation of the Yanomami territory in 1992 – a success that’s at risk today due to the current Brazilian government’s policies.

The Fotomuseum Winterthur presents the first major retrospective of her work, bringing together photographs, audiovisual installations, Yanomami drawings, and other documents. The exhibit conveys her view of the community’s way of life – visitors will find Andujar’s work accessible, even if they haven’t studied art theory, or are well-versed in environmental issues or the history of South America.

Cover Picture: Maloca near the Catholic mission at the Catrimani River, Bundesstaat Roraima, Brasilien, 1976 © Claudia Andujar