THE AZULEJO AS COLONIAL SYMBOL OF POWER: A DECONSTRUCTION THROUGH SUGAR AND ART

Abstract

I create murals that look like azulejos, depicting caravels and many decorative features seen in traditional azulejos, but my murals are made entirely of sugar. I make the sugar tiles and hand paint them with edible inks. I am interested in the azulejo, specifically with imagery of ships, as a symbol of colonial power and of national pride (the Nation of Portugal), but only for the means to subvert this pride. I developed this work in Brazil, addressing the country’s history of colonization and the slave trade that supported Portugal’s sugar empire. I continue to use the blue tile reference, even outside the context of Brazil, because I want to reference the general construct of colonization and slavery, showing how oppression has found new forms. I install my ephemeral murals on city walls, where they wash away, fade, crumble and decay, animating a more realistic version of history.