Pérez Art Museum Miami

One Becomes Many is an exhibition that highlights and focuses on the art of eleven Black Brazilian artists. The art is unified through their explorations of resilience in the face of both contemporary and historical hardships shared by Black Brazilians. 

A central theme throughout the work is that of Candoblé Ketu. An Afro-Brazilian religion that was developed in the 1800s and gained importance in the 1900s. The word Candomblé means “ritual dancing or gather in honor of gods” and Ketu is the name of the Ketu region of Benin, a country in West Africa. The religion merged several different belief systems including parts of the Yoruba mythology and other African communities in Brazil. The religion spread as it became a way for Yoruba slaves to maintain their culture. Among some of the religious customs that were brought include sacred drumming, dance, and trances to communicate with ancestors and spirits. 

However, like many non-European religions, it was seen as Devil worship by Catholic Imperialists in Brazil. To keep their practices hidden, their culture alive, and their lives safe, practitioners of Condoblé incorporated Catholic Saints into their religious practices. 

This shared history between Black Brazilians forms a heritage of resilience and independence that manifests itself in the artwork presented in this exhibition through depictions of Black Brazilians, references to Black Brazilian folk art, ornamentation, the remnants of slavery and oppression, and bright colors that invoke sentiments of survival and enduring.