(...) The title of Paulo Arriano’s solo show, Olokun, meaning the owner of the ocean, references an orisha spirit who in many ways is an aider of transformation too. Revered as the ruler of all bodies of water, in West African areas directly adjacent to the coast, Olokun takes a male form among his worshipers while in the hinterland, Olokun is a female or androgynous deity. Olokun is also recognized with small alterations all around the Atlantic Ocean including Nigeria, Benin, Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba, the USA and more due to Yoruba and Edo people being taken as slaves to these territories. Olokun is associated with material wealth and also governs psychic abilities, dreaming, meditation, mental health and water-based healing, and also plays an important role in the transition of human beings and spirits between two existences. (...)
In Olokun, exhibition text by Borbála Soós
November 2021
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Paulo Arraiano (Cascais, 1977) lives and works...in Lisboa.
Paulo Arraiano has a degree in Communication by ISCEM (Lisboa), and Visual Arts at Ar.Co – Centro de Arte e Comunicação Visual (Lisboa).
He is also co-founder of Re_actcontemporary, (https://www.reactcontemporary.com)art laboratory and residence program based in the Azores Islands work with the aspects of climate change, biosphere, anthropocene, extinction and transumanism. and no.stereo, an independent artist-run platform.
Arraiano's solo shows: “Sensorial Divinities”, Dimora Artica, Milan – Italy (2019); “Art Rotterdam”, solo booth with Hawaii-Lisbon, Rotterdam – Netherlands (2018); “As always, A Matter Of Perspective”, Hawaii-Lisbon, Lisbon – Portugal (2017); “While Satellites Dance”, TAL Gallery, Rio de Janeiro – Brazil (2016); “Fold/Fault”, Forty/Forty, Warsaw – Poland (2015); “Magma”, (Sandro Resende P/28), Cidadela Art District, Cascais – Portugal (2014) and “Emotional Landscapes”, Arte Institute (2013).
Among Arraiano's group shows, we highlight: “The sea, between metaphor and matter”, Curated by Camila Maissune, Hangar, Lisbon – Portugal (2020); “SD” (online), MentalSpace, Curated By Roman Zheleznyak, Boshum – Netherlands (2020); “StrangeTime” (online) ArtLaboratoty, Curated By Stepan Ryabchenko (2020); “Space” (online), Harddiskmuseum (2020); “The Bee Who Forgot The Honey”, Museu d’Història de Catalunya, Curated By Aurélien Le Genissel, Barcelona – Spain (2019); “Towards The Last Unicorn”, 55SP, S.Paulo – Brazil (2019); “Secret Cabinet”, Dimora Artica, Milan – Italy (2018); “The Wrong New Digital Art Biennale”, Cidade das Artes Museum, Rio de Janeiro – Brazil (2018); “Matter / Non_Matter”, MAH Museum, Terceira Island – Azores (2017); “At Home”, Quartier General – Centre d’art Contemporain, La Chaux-de-Fonds – Switzerland (2017); “AbstractXed#1”, Aeroplastics Contemporary, Brussels – Belgium (2017); “Periplos”, Curated By Fernando Frances, CAC Málaga Museum, Málaga – Spain; “Down To Earth”, Curated By Kwaku Boateng, The Dot Project Gallery, London – UK (2016); “1/81”, Coa Museum, Vila Nova de Foz Côa – Portugal (2015); “Cherry Blast”, National Building Museum, Washington DC – USA (2014); “Re:Function”, Angra do Heroísmo Museum, Terceira Island – Azores (2014); “LaGa”, Museé d’Art Moderne, Luxembourg (2008).
Paulo Arraiano has also participated in several artist residency programmes, such as Hangar (Lisbon); Walk&Talk (Azores); Transforma (Torres Vedras); LAC (Lagos), among others.
He is represented in both public and private collections such as CAC Málaga Museum, (Spain); Luciano Benetton Collection (Italy); Quartier-General Arts Center (Switzerland); Museu de Angra do Heroismo (Azores); Sztuki Zewnetrznej Foundation (Poland); Pestana Group (Portugal); Fundação D. Luís / Museum Quarter (Portugal) and MARCC Museum (Portugal).
Entrada actualizada el el 09 nov de 2021
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