In Tetas que deram de mamar ao mundo [Breasts That Nursed the World], Lidia Lisbôa presents four textile sculptures crocheted with wide strips of fabric hand-braided together. Each piece has its own form, color, and dimension, ranging from rounded to elongated volumes that evoke breasts and nipples on an enlarged scale.
The colors span a contrasting palette: one sculpture in soft shades of beige and pale pink; another in intense layers of red, wine, and burgundy, intersected by areas of green and black; a third combining vibrant bands of red, orange, and yellow; and a suspended form in ocher and burnt orange, whose enveloping configuration suggests a cradle. The surfaces alternate between compact, dense weaves and looser areas from which fabric tips sprout, creating textures that suggest hair, roots, or organic extensions. The pieces are anchored by four points to the Pavilion’s ceiling, and by one point to the floor.
The works result from the repetitive, patient gesture of crochet, a practice transmitted primarily by women across generations, carrying within it memory, affection, and the construction of identity. This intergenerational learning practice has shaped our notion of humanity, collectivity, and education. It is also inscribed within the context of oraliterature advocated by Conceição Evaristo. In the exhibition space, the pieces stand as monuments to care and nourishment, but also to the collective strength embedded in manual making. As visitors draw closer, they perceive the subtle variations of each sculpture, as if each one carried its own energy, composing a shared gesture of resistance and welcome.
They are part of a series that Lidia has been developing for ten years. As Luiza Marcolino writes in the catalogue of the 36th Bienal, “by weaving stories instead of narrating them linearly, Lisbôa reverberates common longings, fears, and desires, often hidden or concealed by society. In this way, she makes sewing a choice—a survival strategy, a recovery of the self, and a construction of memories.”