AMAZÔNIA IMAGINED

Sala Brasil, 14-16 Cockspur Street, London SW1 5BL
6th December 2017 - 31st January 2018  |  Monday to Friday 12-6pm

Kim Poor opens a major solo exhibition celebrating the diversity and richness of the myths and legends of the Amazonian Indians.

This cultural legacy is now vulnerable due to the unchecked advances of so-called Western Civilization into their habitat.

“AMAZÔNIA IMAGINED IS AT ONCE A CELEBRATION AND A LAMENT FOR SOMETHING PRECIOUS THAT IS ABOUT TO VANISH FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH”

Many pieces featured in Edward Lucie-Smith’s book are exhibited alongside an installation named The River of Blood, representing 300 indigenous tribes in the form of inscribed arrows in flight. Many of the paintings are created using Kim Poor’s original technique of fusing layers of finely ground glass mixed with natural pigments onto steel plates. These are fired at very high temperatures up to forty times, creating images that are as luminous as butterfly wings. Salvador Dali christened her technique “Diaphanism”.

The oral tradition of the Brazilian Indian, exemplified in myth and legend, is rich and compelling. Like all aboriginal peoples the Amazonian Indian has always used myths to explain natural phenomena, to entertain children, to provide a moral fabric and to preserve the meanings of a rich and exotic past. This is their cultural legacy.


The River of Blood



The AMAZÔNIA IMAGINED exhibition



A Visit from the Year 1 pupils of All Saints Barnet

All photos by Paul Clark (paulclarkphotography.net) unless otherwise indicated