The Japanese word “Sumi” means ink and “e” paint or picture. Its origins go back to China where paper appeared at the same time as calligraphy. Even though its roots are Chinese, the Buddhist monks practiced this form of painting to help in their meditation (Zen) and gave it a more purified form.
This form of painting with black ink on white rice paper gave rise to lines of great simplicity and elegance, resulting thus in an intention of capturing the essence of what is being painted, or to try to manifest the spirit of nature.
The following body of work was painted in the year 2016 with sumi ink on hand made mulberry paper. The individual size is 70 x 102 cm.
The paintings with title Bento Rodrigues were inspired by an event that happened in this site, in the Minas Gerais State in Brazil in 2015. A mine that was operating in the region used to deposit the waste of the iron ore extraction in the tailing dams built for this purpose. Due to negligence, the dam ruptured releasing all the toxic waste flooding and destroying the village. Finally, the rains managed to bring all this waste into the Atlantic Ocean.
The next body of works that I present were painted during my stay in Canada and United States and were done on different types of papers made with natural fibers with sumi ink and pigments.
