A AMAZONIA Soundwalk Collective & Patti Smith

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Mendes Wood DM is pleased to present A AMAZONIA, an exhibition that results from a collaboration spanning more than a decade between Soundwalk Collective and Patti Smith. Exhibited for the first time in Brazil, the show features a selection from the Correspondences body of work, which, through video installations and drawings made of natural pigments, invites reflection on the Amazon rainforest. A AMAZONIA will be presented at Casa Iramaia, an off-site curatorial space held in a modernist design house in the Jardins district of São Paulo.

Correspondences is an ongoing artistic dialogue between Soundwalk Collective and Patti Smith that has been active for over a decade. The project is grounded in sound recordings made by Soundwalk Collective’s founder Stephan Crasneanscki in some of the world’s most remote regions, including the Amazon – which he visited on many occasions over the past fifteen years. These soundscapes are then interpreted by Patti Smith, whose poetic vision examines the relationship between nature, history, and the act of artistic creation. The continuous exchanges between the artists, sustained by correspondence, seek to reflect on life and humanity’s impact on the environment.  

This has resulted in Soundwalk Collective and Patti Smith’s powerful work Burning 1946-2024. The 17-minute piece utilizes archival footage of fires in the Amazon, contextualized alongside other forests, accompanied by Patti Smith’s narration chronicling the loss of forested hectares from her year of birth (1946) to the present day. The film begins in a restrained tone, listing the devastation, and progressively grows in intensity, underscoring the magnitude of the tragedy.  

The spirits of the forest are honored in Rima, a cinematic journey along the Amazon River captured in slow motion by Crasneanscki. The film underwent meticulous post-production, including special treatment of the negative, to break away from the darkness of night and reveal the forest’s spiritual essence. This new edit is accompanied by a poem sung by Patti Smith, whose vocals celebrate nature and mystery. 

The exhibition will also feature unseen drawings by Stephan Crasneanscki. The artworks, made with natural pigments from the Amazon rainforest, communicate with each other, forming a sort of red river with its tributaries, composed into an installation format.

Soundwalk Collective and Patti Smith will be in São Paulo for two performances at Teatro Cultura Artística. 

Special thanks to curator Fiona Scarry, whose significant support made possible the collaboration with Mendes Wood DM.