Maria Thereza Alves’ (b. 1961) practice is centred on the critical examination of specific geographical territories and the foregrounding of silenced histories.
Her projects unfold in dialogue with the physical and social contexts in which she lives or visits. Alves has taken up themes such as the devastating effects of Portuguese imperialism on the Indigenous peoples of her native Brazil and the impacts of the Spanish conquest of the Americas.
Her artistic practice is thematically informed by her work as a founding member of the São Paulo Green Party and as a former member of the International Indian Treaty Council, which serves as an advocate of Indigenous rights, self-determination and environmental protection.
Alves’ installation in Helsinki Biennial subverts human-centric political practices by proposing new ways of involving other-than-humans in the democratic process.
Artwork location: HAM Helsinki Art Museum
Photo: Francesca Fattori