O Ritmo do Samba

 

2013-15

Performers dressed in orange and purple costumes at the Rio de Janeiro carnival in Brazil. Part of the "O Ritmo do Samba" (2013-15) project by artist Paola Cassola.
Performers dressed in bright red costumes at the Rio de Janeiro carnival in Brazil. Part of the "O Ritmo do Samba" (2013-15) project by artist Paola Cassola.
Purple, orange, yellow and green headpieces in movement at the Rio de Janeiro carnival in Brazil. Part of the "O Ritmo do Samba" (2013-15) project by artist Paola Cassola.
Blue and gold headpieces with white and blue large feathers at the Rio de Janeiro carnival in Brazil. Part of the "O Ritmo do Samba" (2013-15) project by artist Paola Cassola.
Performers dressed in light blue and white costumes, dancing at the Rio de Janeiro carnival in Brazil. Part of the "O Ritmo do Samba" (2013-15) project by artist Paola Cassola.
Performers dressed in green and white costumes that resemble clovers with card suits and eyes at the Rio de Janeiro carnival in Brazil. Part of the "O Ritmo do Samba" (2013-15) project by artist Paola Cassola.
Close-up of gold and red costume at the Rio de Janeiro carnival in Brazil. Part of the "O Ritmo do Samba" (2013-15) project by artist Paola Cassola.
Performers dressed in gold, black and white costumes dancing and twirling at the Rio de Janeiro carnival in Brazil. Part of the "O Ritmo do Samba" (2013-15) project by artist Paola Cassola.
Close-up of leaf decorations in gold and green at the Rio de Janeiro carnival in Brazil. Part of the "O Ritmo do Samba" (2013-15) project by artist Paola Cassola.
Performers dressed in red, gold and white costumes at the Rio de Janeiro carnival in Brazil. Man in foreground wears white face paint with red lips. Part of the "O Ritmo do Samba" (2013-15) project by artist Paola Cassola.
Performers dressed in silver costumes with spikey headpieces at the Rio de Janeiro carnival in Brazil. Part of the "O Ritmo do Samba" (2013-15) project by artist Paola Cassola.
Performer dressed in white, blue and gold costume and white face paint at the Rio de Janeiro carnival in Brazil. Part of the "O Ritmo do Samba" (2013-15) project by artist Paola Cassola.

O Ritmo do Samba (2012-2015)

 

Photographic prints on acrylic
70x100 cm (27.5x39.3 in); 120x150cm (47x59 in)

 
 
 
 
 

"I disintegrate my objects that often become blurred. But if the viewer backs away from the image, the colours create forms"
Paola Cassola, notes, February 2012

 
 
 
 
 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

90.000 people seated in elaborate costumes
5 days of extravaganza from 8pm to 7am
12 elite samba schools performing down the Sapucai
More than a million spectators watching the show
1 year preparation and hundreds of workers to put everything together

 

“Carnival festivities in Brazil date back to 1723 with the Portuguese immigrants from the islands of Madeira and Cabo Verde introducing the Entrudo. People went out onto the streets soaking each other with buckets of water and threw mud and food, which often ended up in street brawls and riots. The concepts kept changing throughout the 1800s with more organised parades, where the Emperor joined in the celebrations along with a group of aristocrats in masks with luxurious costumes and music.

Towards the end of the century, the Carnival became a working class festivity where people wore costumes and joined the parade accompanied by musicians. During the years of military censorship it was used to express political dissatisfaction: the Samba Schools with irony and sarcasm would express their displeasure with the government and the people’s desire for freedom.

O Ritmo do Samba is a three years project (2012-2015) on the Rio Carnival, today the greatest show on Earth. From the hand production of the costumes and the “carros alegoricos” in the Cidade do Samba to the composition of the music and its choreographies in the Samba Schools and the 30 minutes intense and thrilling experience of the "passarela" (runway) along the Avenida of the Sapucai, O Ritmo do Samba is the result of my personal journey throughout all aspects of this global performance. It investigates the way in which it is a true component of Brazil’s cultural heritage, a message Brazilians send out about who they are and a moment that truly brings people together, with energy and pride, regardless of their economic status. O Ritmo do Samba focuses on the the Samba that lies at the heart of the Carioca culture (the eclectic mix of music, song, and dance styles brought by the Afro-Brazilians who settled in the slums surrounding Rio after the abolition of slavery in 1888, became part of the Rio Carnival in 1917, and today is sung from the ghetto shack to the high class mansions). And on how, during this grand visual fest, its rhythm makes all bodies look the same and every subject feel like a Star, special and at their best, in an explosion of extravaganza and colour”.