“… the plants need territories to exist. These territories are burning—literally burning—by climate change, which is not a product of people’s words but of economic and political activity, including bombings and wars.” – Ailton Krenak

The planet is hyperinflamed , responding to the infection caused by the human consumerist system.

Seated in hammocks, two friends meet to exchange thoughts in the studio of visual artist Gabriela Machado, in Rio de Janeiro.

A talk about what to do and how to live in burning territories, territories impacted by climate change. In the face of the stark reality of global warming, what should be done — or left undone?

Coming from opposing perspectives, Ailton Krenak and Jeremy Narby share their deep respect and admiration for plants and all life that emerges from them.

Sparks, colors, cosmic serpents, and incandescent flowers pulse through Gabriela Machado's paintings, while Nana Carneiro da Cunha presents improvised cello variations on Cantiga Caicó, a song from traditional Brazilian repertoire that appears in Villa-Lobos’ Bachiana No. 4, later reinterpreted by Teca Calazans with lyrics by Milton Nascimento.

This sixth Hammock Talk is a tribute to more-than-human life, especially to the leaf. 

EXTRA VIDEO

To harvest, to weave, to lie down, to dream. Here, Ailton Krenak shares knowledge about the hammock, this wild tool. An icon of our Hammock Talks, it was only absent in the meeting Shiva and the hummingbird, between Ailton and Satish Kumar. In that conversation, the bamboo grove and its rhizome were the very woven fabric of an immense hammock. 

This additional segment of the Hammock Talk between Ailton and Jeremy Narby is a homage to the hammock, a small film that welcomes the new episode of the series.

RELATED MATERIAL

– Playlist Jeremy Narby in the Selvagem Cycle
– Book A Serpente Cósmica: o DNA e a origem do saber [The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the origin of knowledge], by Jeremy Narby (Dantes, 2018)
– Book Plantas Mestras: tabaco e ayahuasca [Teacher Plants: tobacco and ayahuasca], by Jeremy Narby and Rafael Chanchari Pizuri (Dantes, 2022)
– Notebook Brazil, guardian of the future, by Jeremy Narby
– Notebook Plantas como cérebros [Plants as brains], by Jeremy Narby
– Notebook Enter the world – a talk about “Teacher Plants”, by Ailton Krenak and Carlos Papá
– Wild Arrow 4, The Jungle and the Sap

CREDITS

Direction:
Anna Dantes

Production:
Madeleine Deschamps

Production assistance:
Daniel Grimoni

Artist:
Gabriela Machado

Music:
Improvisations on Cantiga Caicó, by Nana Carneiro da Cunha

FILMING – ROCCA FILMES
Photography direction: Rafael Rolim
Cameras: Rafael Rolim, Lucca Pougy, Clara Monteiro and Amanda Carpá
Sound: Toninho Muricy
Production assistance: Leticia Schimmelpfeng
Photos: JPrado

English translation of the conversation: Mary Hatakeyama and Ana Jurema
Spanish translation of the conversation: Mary Hatakeyama, Daniela Ruiz and María Ovidio

Assembly technician:
Andrew de Freitas

Special thanks: Corinne Petignat, Digo Fiães, João Paulo Quintella, Mariana Zampier, Rodrigo Quintela

Deities evoked from places as distant as India and Brazil manifest themselves in the bamboo grove of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden. 

Like a plant cathedral, the clearing of leaves holds only two benches, crafted by Anapuatã Mehinako. 

Sitting there, Ailton and Satish speak about life and its transmutation.

Here, the hammock’s weave is invisible — a subterranean rhizome and spiritual web through which the forces of renewing destruction and radical love flow.

Who is Shiva? Who is the hummingbird?

The conversation features a musical participation by Amora Pêra and live illustrations by Aza, created during Ailton and Satish’s interaction.

EXTRA VIDEO

In this film, Amora Pêra — who takes part in the conversation with a musical performance — sings Libertad mariposa, a song by her father, Gonzaguinha, released in 1980 on the album "De volta ao começo" [Back to the start].

RELATED MATERIAL

– Notebook A love manifesto, by Satish Kumar

CREDITS

Direction:
Anna Dantes

Production:
Madeleine Deschamps

Production assistance:
Daniel Grimoni and Alice Faria

Musical participation:
Amora Pêra, singing “Pèrègún o – Orin Orixá”

Guest artist:
Aza

Animation:
Luciano Gomes

FILMING – ROCCA FILMES
Photography direction: Rafael Rolim
Cameras: Rafael Rolim, Lucca Pougy, Jota Prado and Mauricio Machado
Sound: Toninho Muricy
Camera assistance: Jean-Baptiste Deschamps and Mauricio Machado
Photos: Miguel Casanova
Editing and finishing: Gabriel Ingber

Consecutive interpretation: Fernanda Vidal

Subtitles: NOZ Audiovisual

Wooden benches: Anapuatã Mehinako - Tucum Brasil

Special thanks: Amanda Santana, Bia Tadema, Carol Comandulli, Digo Fiães, Escola Schumacher Brasil, Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Lídia Vales, Lívia King, Marcos Nadruz, Pedro Rocha and Viviane Fonseca-Kruel

"The heart could be thought of as the key to all the transformations we desire in the world." – Ailton Krenak

"Maybe that is where the power of Indigenous peoples lies: keeping the doors open to the future. That’s what I think." – Hiromi Nagakura

In this fourth episode of the Hammock Talk series – ‘心 Kokoro’, which means ‘heart’ in Japanese –, Ailton Krenak and Hiromi Nagakura meet at the home-studio of Tomie Ohtake in São Paulo. Reunited after many years, the two friends recall episodes from their experiences in the Amazon while reflecting on topics such as borders in the contemporary world, the relationship between forest and metropolis, and the possibility of true connection between people.

The conversation also features a musical participation by Marlui Miranda, adding a sensitive layer with songs and stories from the Indigenous peoples she has lived with.

EXTRA VIDEO

Marlui Miranda – who makes a musical contribution to the conversation – tells a narrative in the Suyá language about the origin of beiju [cassava dish] in the time of the ancestors. Marlui also shares a little about the meaning of this story and the way it is told in the villages.

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Marlui Miranda sings a lullaby from the Juruna people, which was presented by Hi Juruna, Tarinu Juruna, and Yabaiwa Juruna.

RELATED MATERIAL

– Book Um rio um pássaro [A River a bird], by Ailton Krenak (Dantes, 2023)
– Article Conexão Amazônia Japão Coração [Amazon Japan Heart Connection]

MORE ABOUT THE TALK

This talk was filmed in the context of the exhibition Hiromi Nagakura to the Amazon with Ailton Krenak, which was inaugurated in October 2023 at the Instituto Tomie Ohtake in São Paulo, with the presence of both Ailton Krenak and Hiromi Nagakura.

Between 1993 and 1998, Ailton and Nagakura traveled together through different Indigenous territories. The exhibition showcases records of their encounters with the Krikati, Guarani Mbya, Ñandeva and Kaiowá, Yawanawá, Yanomami, Huni Kuï – Kaxinawá, Akrãtikatêjê – Gavião da Montanha, and Ashaninka peoples. 

The book A river, a bird (Dantes, 2023), with reflections by Ailton during these travels, was also launched during the opening week of the exhibition. 

In the context of this talk, we also carried out the translation of the 7 Wild Arrows and of the notebook Life is savage, by Ailton Krenak, into Japanese.

Um rio um pássaro [A River a bird] features two texts by Ailton Krenak. The first text, with the same title as the book, dates back to the 1990s when Ailton traveled through various Indigenous lands accompanied by Japanese photographer Hiromi Nagakura. It presents reflections on life and memories of the formation of the Indigenous movement in Brazil. Until now, records of these talks had only been published in Japan. Uma cachoeira [A waterfall] is the title of the second text, also previously unpublished. In this 2023 piece, Ailton delves deeper into the theme of the cognitive abyss caused by the separation of culture and nature, as well as discussing neutrality as an ethical subterfuge in the face of environmental collapse.

Learn more

CREDITS

Direction:
Anna Dantes

Production:
Madeleine Deschamps

Musical participation:
Marlui Miranda

Guest artist:
Tomie Ohtake

FILMING
Direction and editing: Filipe Franco
Direction assistance: Ana Hirszman Sampaio
Cameras: Giuliana Eira and Caio Mazzilli
Photos: Fred Siewerdt
Sound: Tomás Franco

TOMIE OHTAKE INSTITUTE
Coordinator:
Carol Tonetti

Production:
Vitória Arruda, André Luiz Bella, Fernanda L. Beraldi, Jacildo A. Paula, Marcos Sustani, Victor Constantino

Kuikuro and Mehinaku hammocks: Amoa Konoya Arte Indígena

Consecutive interpretation: Yoshihiro Odo and Eliza Otsuda

Translation and proofreading of English subtitles: Marina Matheus and Margit Leisner

Subtitles: NOZ audiovisual

Special thanks: Angela Pappiani, Carolina Pasinato, Casa-Ateliê Tomie Ohtake, Jane dos Santos Lima, José Carlos Pezybyn, Rosa Maria dos Santos Lima, Cristiane Vanderlin Vicente de Lima Soares, Daniel Grimoni, Elisa Miranda Santilli, Gabriel Zei, Maria de Fátima Rocha, Ricardo Ohtake, José Menezes, Diego Brito, Nimboo’s Filmes, Panamá Filmes

This Hammock Talk is a project by Selvagem, cycle of studies about life, in partnership with the Tomie Ohtake Institute. It was produced as part of the exhibition “Hiromi Nagakura até a Amazônia com Ailton Krenak" [Hiromi Nagakura to the Amazon with Ailton Krenak].

The Brazilian Ministry of Culture, the Government of the State of São Paulo, through the Department of Culture, Economy, and Creative Industries, Bradesco, and the Tomie Ohtake Institute present:

"Hiromi Nagakura to the Amazon with Ailton Krenak"

"What is happening to the planet, all peoples are feeling it, they are perceiving it." – Eduardo Viveiros de Castro

"White people are interested in the accounting of the world: how much world they have to consume. And Indigenous peoples are interested in how many worlds they can create." – Ailton Krenak

Ailton Krenak and Eduardo Viveiros de Castro meet at Carlos Vergara’s studio in Rio de Janeiro. In the shade of a mango tree, they converse about topics such as the convergences between modern science and Indigenous wisdom, the environmental impacts of capitalism, and the possibility of creating new worlds from the ruins of what we know.

EXTRA VIDEO

Ailton and Eduardo reflect on the attention Indigenous peoples give to the elements of their territory; and Ailton tells the story of when, on an expedition through the Amazon, he and his group were followed by a pair of jaguars.

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Ailton narrates the episode of a visit made by him and an Indigenous delegation to the office of Darcy Ribeiro, a Brazilian anthropologist and professor, and the surprise of the staff at his arrival, along with some unusual facts about this historical figure.

RELATED MATERIAL

– Notebook Radical subjetification of the world, by Eduardo Viveiros de Castro
– Interview Between two worlds, with Eduardo Viveiros de Castro

CREDITS

Direction:
Anna Dantes

Production:
Madeleine Deschamps

Musical participation:
Ana Paula Cruz

Guest artist:
Carlos Vergara

Filming:
Direction and editing: Elisa Mendes
Camera direction: Clara Cavour
Cameras: Clara Cosentino and Eder Neves

Sound:
Priscila Alves

Photos:
Juliana Chalita

Assembly technician:
Andrew de Freitas

Special thanks:
Carlos Vergara, João Vergara, Antônio Justo, Digo Fiães, Luiz Camillo Osorio, Cecilia Cavalieri, Teresa Duque Estrada, Rodrigo Maré and Rodrigo Quintela

"It is very important to at least nourish the utopia of making a crack in the city's wall." – Ailton Krenak

"What I am trying to do is think about the limits of the concepts we conceive in the world." – Nastassja Martin

Ailton Krenak and Nastassja Martin meet at the home of Denise Milfont in Rio de Janeiro. Weaving threads of words, they discuss topics such as the separation between nature and culture, the power of orality, and the diversity of understandings regarding the limits of the living world..

RELATED MATERIAL

– Notebook The return of the night: reflections on the oniric life, here and there, by Nastassja Martin
– Talk Dream-Path, with Nastassja Martin and Ailton Krenak – Dreams cycle

CREDITS

Direction:
Anna Dantes

Production:
Madeleine Deschamps

Guest artist:
Zoé Dubus

Participation of Mona Cara

Musical participation:
Rodrigo Maré
Ayla

Filming and editing: Elisa Mendes
Filming assistance: Lucas César
Sound: Priscila Alves

Transcription of the conversation in Portuguese: Mary Hatakeyama and Katlen Rodrigues
English translation of the conversation: Ana Jurema and Gerrie Schrik
French translation of the conversation: Christophe Dorkeld and Isabelle Véronique
Subtitles: NOZ Audiovisual

Partnership and support: Embassy of France in Brazil

Special thanks:
Denise Milfont, Marion Loire, Nathalia Grilo, Claudine Offredi, Rafael Mastrocinque, Editora 34 and Bino

“We are constantly experiencing other lives within us; everything alters our experience.” – Ailton Krenak

“Symbiosis is a paradox: it is the act by which two organisms consume each other without destroying themselves.” – Emanuele Coccia

Seated in separate hammock-canoes, Ailton Krenak and Emanuele Coccia meet face to face in the studio of artist Luiz Zerbini, in Rio de Janeiro. Rocked by the swaying, they engage in a dialogue on topics such as discomfort with the idea of the future, the need to reconnect with the materiality of life, and the influence of other forms of life on our human bodies.

RELATED MATERIAL

– Book Metamorfoses [Metamorphoses], by Emanuele Coccia (Dantes, 2020)
– Playlist Emanuele Coccia at Selvagem Cycle
– Wild Arrow 3, Metamorphosis
– Article Arrow 3 – Metamorphosis
– Notebook The Caterpillar and the Butterfly

CREDITS

Direction:
Anna Dantes

Production:
Madeleine Deschamps

Artist:
Luiz Zerbini

Musical participation:
Raquel Dimantas and Thiago Nassif
Arto Lindsay

Filming and editing: Elisa Mendes
Filming assistance: Lucas César
Sound: Marcos Valério

Transcription of the conversation: Katlen Rodrigues
English translation of the conversation: Marina Matheus and Paloma Bianchi
French translation of the conversation: Christophe Dorkeld
Subtitles: NOZ Audiovisual

Partnership and support: Embassy of France in Brazil

Special thanks:
Vincent Zonca, Marion Loire, Dantes Editora, Digo Fiães and Bino
Luiz Zerbini atelier: Luiz Zerbini, Ana Luiza Fonseca, Filipe Martins, Juliana Wähner, Ruan D’Ornellas