Exhibition Review: The Yanomami Struggle
Written by Wenjie (Demi) Zhao
Copy Edited by Kee'nan Haggen
Photo Edited by Athena Abdien
In Yanomami, the word utupë embodies a person’s “body image,” “vital essence,” and “photography.” The latest exhibition at The Shed in New York, The Yanomami Struggle, showcases Claudia Andujar’s photographs as a visual testament to the Yanomami people's fight for their land, culture, and survival. Featuring over 200 photos taken by Andujar over five decades, the exhibition provides a unique lens into the unheeded world of this indigenous tribe, offering a medium for their ritual and shedding light on their struggle in the Amazonia area throughout history. This exhibition is a tribute to the tribe’s resilience and Andujar’s lifelong dedication to their cause, on view from February 3rd to April 16th.
Andujar’s interest in photography began when she moved to Brazil in the 1950s. Her first encounter with the Yanomami people occurred in 1971 while on assignment for Realidade magazine. This encounter sparked a lifelong commitment to the Yanomami. Despite being expelled from Yanomami territory by the Brazilian government in 1977 for her repeated denouncements of the violations against the tribe, Andujar co-founded the Commission for the Creation of the Yanomami Park (CCPY) in 1978, which trains Yanomami people as health-care workers. While Andujar withdrew from politics, she continued to use her photographs to raise awareness about the challenges facing the Yanomami.
Andujar’s backstory as a Holocaust survivor looking for a sense of belonging is a powerful parallel to Yanomami’s struggles.
“Photography is a process of discovering oneself and, through the other, oneself. Intrinsically, that is why the photographer seeks and discovers new worlds but, in the end, always shows what is inside himself.” — Claudia Andujar
Claudia Andujar’s photographs of the Yanomami are a documentation of their daily lives and a unique interpretation of their culture and spirituality. Her approach to photography as a way to discover the other and oneself is evident in her deep and intimate relationship with the Yanomami people. Andujar’s photographs were taken during her many years accompanying the Yanomami on hunting and foraging expeditions, providing a glimpse into their daily lives.
Through her experimental techniques, such as petroleum jelly, colored filters, and infrared films, Andujar creates a dreamlike and surreal element in her photographs. The sky is darkened, the figures glittering in the dark, and the palm-leaf roof of a communal home shimmers like a starry night sky. In one photo, a young man by the fire resembles an ancestral deity enveloped in smoke, while in another, a curious child embraced by sunlight glows like a spiritual being. In Andujar’s photographs, the Yanomami are not just subjects but active participants in creating the images. The Yanomami’s use of body paint, feathers, and other adornments to decorate themselves and their surroundings is an essential part of their culture captured in Andujar’s photographs.
The Yanomami Struggle also includes Yanomami artists’ drawings and films, which provide a multi-layered perspective on Yanomami society and its cosmology. The exhibition tells the story of the Yanomami's struggle for their land, culture, and survival against the backdrop of the Brazilian government's exploitation and neglect of the Amazonia. Andujar’s photographs from the 1970s occupy a central position in the exhibition, conveying the emotional intensity of the Yanomami’s struggle and the beauty of their culture. Andujar’s photographs are a tribute to her commitment to the Yanomami people and their struggles. Her photography approach is about documenting the culture and finding a sense of belonging and connection. Her photographs are not just a visual representation of the Yanomami but an expression of her journey and search for identity. It is a story of cooperation and resistance, dream and struggle — a platform for the Yanomami people to be seen and heard outside their territory.
