JOSELY CARVALHO
multimedia artist
History: cannon 33 - SIGA nº 015888
This cannon was brought from France to its colony Cayenne, where it was seized by Portuguese and English troops during their capture of the region in 1809. In the previous year, 1808, the royal family and its court had to leave Portugal and take refuge in Brazil because of the invasion by French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Looking for a way to fight back against the enemy's military occupation of Europe, Portuguese troops and the allied British navy invaded Cayenne, the closest French colony to Brazil. This episode, known as the Conquest of Cayenne, was supported by the Anglo-Portuguese alliance that prevailed during King D. João VI's stay in Brazil.
Today, Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana, which borders Amapá, a state in the north of Brazil, and is considered a French overseas territory rather than an independent country. In May 2020, according to Época magazine, the government of French Guiana increased surveillance and expanded the presence of the armed forces to prevent the movement of people on the border between the municipalities of Saint-Georges de l'Oyapok in Guiana and Oiapoque in Amapá. These strict measures were taken due to the high rates of Covid-19 infection in Amapá, which in April 2020 was the epicenter of Brazil’s pandemic.
Amapá is one of the states that is home to the Amazon rainforest. Within and near it live several indigenous communities that suffer from government neglect, especially in the face of contamination by Covid-19. As the newspaper El País stated in June 2020,
“The indignity with which indigenous people are treated in the Covid-19 pandemic opened a new and appalling chapter of violation of the rights of indigenous peoples by the Brazilian State.”
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smell Invasion PB00014KU
The scent of Invasion seeks to bring in its composition violence, fear, and greed but at the same time the courage of the invaders. The fear and anxiety of those affected by the invasions are represented by the animalic, phenyl, and fetid notes found in osmanthus, while violence is evoked through the antiseptic used for wounds and in the metallic scent of blood that the castoreum, oud and musk extracts contribute to the composition.
The smell is hot and burnt. It presents notes of ash, memory of the cannons. Gunpowder, whose components include sulfur, carbon and saltpeter, has been known since the 9th century as black powder or the smell of hell. Cuminic aldehyde, one of the main molecules in cumin, instills pungency and oiliness.