Mané Pacheco

Mané Pacheco
November 3 – December 23, 2023
Opening Reception: November 3, 5-pm 

Crafted primarily with black natural rubber, the sculptures originated from Pacheco’s research on domination culture (BDSM) and extractivist narratives in Amazonian myths. The work’s formal presence draws from both sources. The references to the Amazon and BDSM culture with their contrasting relation to rubber and domination—one fetishistic, the other political— result at once expressive and ambiguous. 

Pacheco’s use of materials prevalent in contemporary industry (transportation, communications, tubing) is disrupted by the bio-morphological shapes of the work. Her use of natural rubber, as opposed to the more affordable polymer alternative, places further emphasis on this disruption: While rubber is potentially more sustainable for the Amazon— providing a viable livelihood to indigenous communities and absorbing carbon dioxide— its extraction during the early 20th Century, which involved slave camps and massacres, continues to cast a haunting shadow on both native mythologies and Western arts. 

Mané Pacheco (Portugal, 1978), lives and works in Lisbon. She studied and worked in nature conservation before joining FBAUL, where she graduated in Multimedia Arts distinguished with a merit scholarship from the University of Lisbon and the BPI/FBAUL 2010 Award. Her recent exhibitions include Bestas at Galeria Francisco Fino, project Belo Campo; the Bienal Anozero 22 Meia-noite Criatura and Soft Skilled; Walk & Talk Azores Festival 2021 Pelágica and the individual-dou at Balcony Gallery A Naturally False Snake. She has participated in exhibitions at Culturgest Porto, Internacional Center of Arts José de Guimarães, MU.SA - Museu das Artes de Sintra, Fidelidade Art Space, Arco Madrid 2022, Berardo Collection Museum, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Drawing Room Lisboa - SNBA; Galeria Municipal de Almada, Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Elvas, Colégio das Artes da Universidade de Coimbra, among others.  Mané’s work is represented in several collections, including António Cachola Collection, Norlinda and José Lima Collection Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Portuguese State Contemporary Art Collection, Lisbon City Council Collection, William Allen Word & Image, Galeria Zé dos Bois and Museu das Artes de Sintra.

Image: Whip Palm (Detail), 2023
Natural rubber, metal hardware, sports rope
Variable dimensions.