Cássio Markowski Brazil, b. 1972
The title of Cássio Markowski's work "The Sound that Comes from Far Away" alludes to a cosmovision. It refers to the idea of the prevalence of a transcendent wisdom that is bequeathed to us through intuition and the notion that humanity and nature are one. This allusion extends to the representation of the anthropomorphic figures that populate the canvas: winged children with the bodies of birds, allegorically embodying freedom.
One of the birds has a sprig of rosemary in its beak, an attribute of friendship, fidelity, love and happy memories.
Enthroned in the center, another child wears an egungun mask and holds a shell in his hand. The shell, closely linked to the idea of fertility and feminine power, is highlighted here, however, with a clear reference to the transatlantic trade of human beings during the colonial period. From this conch blossom flowers of Heliconia or Bananeira do Mato - a plant that originated in South America and has established itself from the point of view of representation as a synonym for purification.
The egungun mask - a Yoruba creation - appears, as a prop, with huge ears referring to the figure of the rabbit, an animal that mythologically ensures the connection between the material world and the immaterial world, governed by the imagination.