Inner Changes: A Conversation with Tadáskía

There’s a joy and lightness to the work of Tadáskía, a fantastical celebration of nature and metamorphosis, as well as fragility and precariousness. The Brazilian artist, who caught the eye of Thelma Golden and other curators at the 2022 Bienal de São Paulo, made her New York solo debut last year with a show at MoMA. For each exhibition, Tadáskía created an immersive installation that began with murals of dry pastel and charcoal, made on site and layered with large drawings and poetic text from her first looseleaf book, ave preta mística (mystical black bird, 2022). She then populated these rich surroundings with floor sculptures constructed from a range of organic materials.

Branches and fruit, arranged like a game of pick-up sticks on the verge of collapsing, are combined with straw and cattail grass, colored powders, eggs adorned with golden thread, and fruits and vegetables, then presented on low platforms with loose pages of charcoal and pastel drawings. These sculptural arrangements have a resonance with ritualistic altars—the elements are familiar, but their meanings remain elusive. Like the painstakingly drawn pastel and charcoal murals, which can be smudged and wiped off with a gentle rub, these assemblages are fragile and subject to time. Permanence and impermanence are essential to the work. As Tadáskía says, change is always at the heart of her life and art.