The opposite of the haunted zombie of bureaucracy is the migratory bird that, being free, blesses us with its temporary presence. The kingfisher, in particular, is special to any conversation about freedom of movement, as it is both a physical presence and an entity. It is both birdlike and an enchanted spirit: in rural Macumbas like Catimbó and Jurema, the figure of the Marujo Martim Pescador (“Kingfisher Sailor”) is a counter-hegemonic one, “a drunk, black, sailor, [...] an entity in solidarity with the socially marginalized and stigmatized”[4]. The kingfisher that appears in Ana’s work is the synthesis of The Insubordinate: one who does not bend to capital because it belongs to a group and is in eternal movement, even crossing the border between the material and immaterial world, that of the living and of the dead, Orún and Aiê. It is not an Orisha, it is a humanlike entity with the birdlike capacities of dismantling borders, while at the same time connecting territories that borders are supposed to separate. All of Ana’s works go along with these movements, including the others she brings to this exhibition.

Adelaide Ivanova for the exhibition Zum Umzug, April 2024.

The opposite of the haunted zombie of bureaucracy is the migratory bird that, being free, blesses us with its temporary presence. The kingfisher, in particular, is special to any conversation about freedom of movement, as it is both a physical presence and an entity. It is both birdlike and an enchanted spirit: in rural Macumbas like Catimbó and Jurema, the figure of the Marujo Martim Pescador (“Kingfisher Sailor”) is a counter-hegemonic one, “a drunk, black, sailor, [...] an entity in solidarity with the socially marginalized and stigmatized”[4]. The kingfisher that appears in Ana’s work is the synthesis of The Insubordinate: one who does not bend to capital because it belongs to a group and is in eternal movement, even crossing the border between the material and immaterial world, that of the living and of the dead, Orún and Aiê. It is not an Orisha, it is a humanlike entity with the birdlike capacities of dismantling borders, while at the same time connecting territories that borders are supposed to separate. All of Ana’s works go along with these movements, including the others she brings to this exhibition.

Adelaide Ivanova for the exhibition Zum Umzug, April 2024.