<I>Diáspora. As histo´rias que o Brasil na~o conta</I>
date: label: Date
content: 2022
name: label: Created by
content: J. Cunha, Brazilian, born 1948
notes: label: Caption
content: The panels of Diaspora depict the history of Afro-Atlantic slave revolts while the form of the work references the use of flags or banners as methods of spiritual practice and political protest. From anti-colonial revolutions to slave rebellions, Africans — and members of the African diaspora across the Atlantic — crafted and flew flags and banners during armed conflict. Flags expressed political identity and announced a group’s armed might. They differed in appearance with some flags referencing religious symbolism and others imbuing alternative meanings to flags of oppressors. This artwork speaks both to and within that tradition from an Afro-Brazilian perspective. In particular, at least one of the panels represents one of the major rebellions by enslaved people in Atlantic history, The Bahian Conspiracy. This rebellion was an anti-colonial and anti-slavery movement in Bahia, Brazil. The revolutionaries—which included freed and enslaved Black and Indigenous people, mixed artisans, and poor whites—flew a vertical tri-band with a large red five-pointed star on the center surrounded by five smaller red stars. This revolutionary flag would become the flag of the state of Bahia.
label: Caption
content: The first panel’s image of a slave ship inscribed (and roughly translated) with the phrase “spirit of freedom heals our Black pain” speaking to the enduring resistance to dehumanization that Africans and people of African descent embodied throughout the experience of enslavement. In the bottom center panel, the phrase “Aluta Negra Sempre Existiu” roughly translates as “The Black struggle has always existed,” recognizing the longevity of the fight for freedom and the continual resistance to enslavement and dehumanization. Other panels feature scenes of armed resistance, religious and cultural practices as well as freedom banners from Brazil.
label: Description
content: A mixed media artwork with acrylic pigments on street fair farinha (flour) carrying bags by J. Cunha. Nine panels, each depicting a scene of Afro-Brazilian diaspora history, are hand sewn together to form a flag. The artwork is largely done with warm-toned shades of red, orange, and brown colors, with bits of brighter colors appearing appearing as highlights in some of the individual designs.
label: Description
content: From top to bottom, left to right, the first panel depicts the experience of the Middle Passage. At the center is a cut-away diagram of figures packed into a ship, surrounded by pink-and-purple aquatic animals and an angel against a green swirled background. At the center of the cut-away is red text in Portuguese against a yellow background, “Espirto da Liberdade Cubra a Nossa dor Negro Cor.” At the center, with a purple background, are different symbols, including weapons, a crown, and the flag of New Holland (Dutch Brazil), used by the Dutch West India Company (1630-1654).
label: Description
content: Panel two has three hands, palms out, stretching out to each other at the center. Below them is a red bag with a cross and crown on the front of the bag. At top left is a line of figures in traditional African dress, contrasted with depictions of figures in bondage that appear at the top right and bottom left of the panel. At both bottom corners are three lines of Portuguese text: on the left is [Água / Ólea / Preto de Roca / Nêgo de Minoa / Peca de Alugel] and on the right [Preta de Gozo / Ama de Liete / Nega de Ganho].
label: Description
content: Panel three has a colorful, geometric rendering of a face at the center. To the left are two panels, each depicting enslaved persons and methods of violent restraint. To the right are five African figures drawn in geometric patterns, amid segments of brick and stone walls, one of which also contains shackles.
label: Description
content: Panel four depicts ten representations of African artifacts, including figures, masks, drums, and shields, each with intricate designs mostly rendered in shades of brown, with some red and white. Various forms of corporeal punishment and restraint, including shackles, collars, and masks, in a severe black overlay each face.
label: Description
content: Panel five has three linear scenes laid horizontally: at the bottom is a row of figures running through green foliage, in the middle are figures in white chains, and at the top are two pairs of legs and two red bulls.
label: Description
content: At the center of panel six is an amulet of a hand making a fig sign, with a red background and blue border with white text listing the names of the four identified leaders of the 1798 Revolt of the Revolt of the Alfaiates, also known as the Bahian Conspiracy: João de Deus do Nascimento, Lucas Dantas de Amorim Torres, Manoel Faustino Dos Santos, and Luis Gonzaga das Virgens. Surrounding the hand amulet are four flags, one in each corner. At the top left is the flag of the revolt with three vertical sections alternating in blue, white, blue with a red star in the white section. Below is a red flag with four heads turned towards a noose in the center. On the top right is a flag with three alternating blue and red horizontal sections, with white text in Portuguese: “A Liberda de consiste no estado eblis, no estado livredo, abatimento: a Liberdade he a docura da vida, O descanco do homemcom igual palallelo de huns pa utroz, finalmente a Liberdade he repouz, he bemaventuranga do mundo.” Below is a flag with a white triangle in a blue canton and four red-and-white stripes with Portuguese text “Liberdade, Igualdade, Abolição, Fim do Preconceito República, Aberturas dos Portos.” The background is brown and blue panels with scattered limbs.
label: Description
content: Panel seven has a bright red background and the side profile of a man on the left edge. The rest of the panel depicts a scene of armed figures in white amid white buildings.
label: Description
content: Panel eight depicts a black hand, palm out, at the bottom center of the panel. At the top is Portuguese text alternating between red and black reading “Aluta Negra, Sempre Existiu.” The panel’s background is a patchwork design with each section depicting a different geometric design in a muted color. Two of the sections contain lists of notable figures in Brazilian history, the first is a list of men who were activist and antislavery figures and the second is a list of women, many enslaved or formerly enslaved, who were resistance fights and activists. Two other sections contain lists, one noting the rights in the 1988 Brazilian constitution (at right) and one has a list of forms of suffering inflicted on enslaved persons (at left).
label: Description
content: Panel nine has a green palm motif against a red background. Scattered throughout are small white cowrie shells and ribbons of black printed with various Brazilian place names in bright colors.
place: label: Place made
content: Brazil, Latin America, South America
label: Place depicted
content: Bahia, Brazil, Latin America, South America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: African diaspora
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Colonialism
label: Topic
content: Communities
label: Topic
content: Decolonization
label: Topic
content: Dutch colonialism
label: Topic
content: Middle Passage
label: Topic
content: Portuguese colonialism
label: Topic
content: Resistance
label: Topic
content: Slavery
label: Topic
content: Trans Atlantic slave trade
label: Topic
content: Violence
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
label: Classification
content: Textiles and Quilts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2024.51
objectType: label: Type
content: textile art (visual works)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © J. Cunha
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: acrylic and pigments on cotton
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 91 3/4 × 122 1/16 in. (233 × 310 cm)