Antonio Obá
Stranger fruits - genealogia, 2020
oil on canvas
70 7/8 x 78 3/4 in
180 x 200 cm
180 x 200 cm
It already starts from this research that I do from this symbolism of the trees used for hangings, so these contradictory elements appear again. Death is mentioned because of this...
It already starts from this research that I do from this symbolism of the trees used for hangings, so these contradictory elements appear again. Death is mentioned because of this hanging, but also the tree as this vivifying element, this element of continuous renewal, which is born, grows, and perishes, is born, grows, and perishes again. So, there is a cyclical idea and, there is an ironic perspective within what I bring from this strange fruit research, which is not exactly a mention that ends only in the idea of hanging. Of course, I make a mention of it and start from that point too, but I take this story and tint it with a constant irony, almost, almost a joke. There is a question of irreverence in this, of taking this whole reality, this trauma, this schism, this past wound and giving it a new meaning through an attitude of irreverence. Not to revere this, not to subordinate oneself to this, but, on the contrary, like a child's game, in a game dynamic, treats this with a certain irreverence and malice. We have the children there like fruits, they are on top of these trees as fruits to come from this root, this central trunk that is figured by the lady, by the older figure, who sometimes acts as an individual, but also sometimes as a tree. She is practically joined to the trunk of this tree. She is this ancestral figure, a tree, which gives strength and meaning to the fruits.