Slash-and-burn
Ana Hupe
Curator: Cecilia Vilela

26 September – 19 October 2025
at CASA TOMADA 1/3
92 Webster Road – RHFA [@92websterroad]
London

Coffee is the fuel of big cities, an addictive substance that powers the productivity of the 21st century’s profit-driven world. Yet coffee is also, in many contexts, an invitation to pause, to take a break. It is a warm way into encounters, a welcome, an invitation to take a seat, stay longer, and savour.

In Brazil, coffee production dates back to the late 18th century and is closely tied to the long, gradual transition from slavery to paid labour. Today, cities across the globe cultivate an intense coffee culture that, though far removed from the coffee plantations of colonial times, reflects renewed dynamics of control adapted to the economic model of our age.

In Slash-and-burn, Ana Hupe creates a space for contemplation and wandering while approaching historical references to the production, trade, and consumption of coffee across the Atlantic triangle. Findings unearthed from public archives in Bahia, Brazil, roam through the artistic space of free associations, letting aesthetic responses surface beyond historical facts.

Extracts from curatorial text by Cecilia Vilela.

Full text available here: http://anahupe.com/wp-content/uploads/20250925_Ana-Hupe_Slash-and-burn_Exhibition-handout_A4_.pdf