A huge hillside sculpture of a vagina in northeastern Brazil has sparked a rift among ideologies, upsetting even the colleagues of conservative President Jair Bolsonaro.
What We Know:
- The art piece, titled “Diva,” was installed and unveiled last week by artist Juliana Notari at the Usina de Arte art park in Pernambuco, Brazil. The work is a bright 108-foot concrete and resin sculpture, located on the site of a former sugar mill that has been turned into an open-air museum.
- Notari explains the intention behind the art piece, saying it represents both a vagina and a wound, reflecting the ambiguous relationship between nature and culture in a “phallocentric and anthropocentric society.”
- Photos of the artwork were shared on Notari’s Facebook, where she comments on the importance of these cultural issues in the country’s current political climate. The post received more than 25,000 comments, including those both in support and criticisms of the sculpture.
Posted by Juliana Notari on Sunday, January 3, 2021
- One comment reads, “With all due respect, I did not like it. Imagine me walking with my young daughters in this park and them asking … Daddy, what is this? What will I answer?” To that, one female user replied: “With all due respect, you can teach your daughters not to be ashamed of their own genitals.”
- One colleague of President Bolsonaro, Olavo de Carvalho, took to Twitter to criticize Notari’s work. His post suggested that a giant penis sculpture be installed as a way to challenge it. His tweet seemed to rile up conservative users, drawing nearly 700 retweets and several comments with outspoken criticism against leftists.
- According to NBC News, Bolsonaro has a history of condemning art he deems to be left-wing, seen in 2019 when he tried unsuccessfully to freeze funding for movies with LGBTQ themes.
This social demonstration of gender issues occurring throughout South America comes shortly after Argentina succeeds in legalizing abortion, a victory for women over the abuse of political power.
