Entre-Ondas Collection, by Ademar Britto

Vivian Caccuri, born in São Paulo (1986) and based in Rio de Janeiro, is a multimedia artist who is interested in the reverberations of sound from a social and political context. With an atelier in a building in the port region, which once housed a factory, and using analog and digital technology, she proposes installations, drawings, objects, videos, performances and soundtracks that challenge normativity, common sense, and take into consideration the sensation experience by the “other”.

As they are not merely contemplative works, there is an environmental experience, especially in the installations, in which Caccuri uses sound frequencies such as short wavelengths, bass, in which, beyond the experience of listening is the perception of the vibration felt by the body.

From the varied outcomes of her investigations, the relation of music in the religious liturgical context, contrasted with the mundane festive context, is highlighted. Analyzing intersections and peculiarities of cathartic experiences that may be experienced in a rave with an electronic sound, as well as in a candomblé ritual with percussive sounds or in a mass with an organ sound, for instance, Caccuri produced works in which human figures are immersed in sound waves in epiphany. One of them is Arrebatamento II (Rapture II), from 2022, a large scale wall object, made up of synthetic thread, painting and embroideries representing a circumstance of the End of Times. In it, human figure emerge from the waters toward the sky, where a sound system hovers amid graphic waves with varied amplitudes and lengths, referring to an experience of catharsis.

Attentive to contemporary artistic production, André Namitala, the designer behind the Handred brand atelier, upon contacting Vivian Caccuri’s atelier, was enchanted with the artistic work involving manual use of fabrics, canvases, overlays and embroidery, elements very dear to the designer’s practice. The aforementioned Arrebatamento II was one of the pieces that drew his attention, as well as Mosquito Shrine IV, which proposes a new mythology in which mosquitos transformed into humans enjoy a party, in which their bodies multiply, completely unraveling amid sound waves, tears and drinks. These bodies with varied biotypes are represented in a cotton thread embroidery on a mosquito net, finished by a fringe of chimes that emit shrill sounds when they meet.

Fabricio Santana wears the AFTER SILK SET. In the background, the Lava Transparente II (Transparent Lava II) piece, by Vivian Caccuri.

Vivian then begins frequenting André’s fashion atelier, following the production of clothes and attentive to the handling of materials. Wearing the brand in her day-to-day life, she became intimate with the modeling, textures and sensations for which the Handred brand is known. Given the mutual interest in collaboration between both ateliers, the Entre-Ondas collection is born, where signs of the artist and the designer’s repertoires mix in a production in which there is a careful treatment of the patterns and embroideries that find new spatial and tailoring configurations in delicate threads such as silk, organza, linen and cotton, which intersect with the streetwear noise both in their silhouettes and, for instance, in their use of brute elements such as slate, pyrite and black tourmaline, applied as ornaments. This collaboration is a celebration of the analog, the manual, the richness of details and passion for creation, breaking the boundaries between artwork and clothing.

Vivian holds a BA in Visual Arts from Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), with a Master’s Degree in Musical Sound from Princeton University (New Jersey, United States) and Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). She has been a part of exhibitions in the Biennales of São Paulo, Venice, Mercosul and Kochi, in institutions such as New Musem (New York), High Line Art (New York) and Serpentine Gallery (London). Her work is part of public collections such as that of the Rio de Janeiro Art Museum (MAR), the São Paulo Art Gallery, the São Paulo Art Museum (MASP) and the Pérez Art Museum (Miami), and she is represented by the A Gentil Carioca Gallery and by Millan Gallery.

Text: Ademar Britto, art curator.
Photos: Pedro Loreto.

Discover the ENTRE-ONDAS COLLECTION HERE.