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Mulambö: My work is based on the idea of carnivalization.
14.05.2025
As soon as our conversation began, my son cried. Mulambö smiled reassuringly, inviting me to pause at any time. It was unnecessary; after crying one last time, Vicent slept soundly.
Mulambö
has had a rising career in recent years. His first individual exhibition Tudo Nosso was as early as 2019 at the Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR) followed by Seattle’s Out of Many, Muchos Más (2021) at Das Schaufenster and Barcelona’s Punta de Lanza ( 2023 ) at Homesession. He has also participated in acclaimed group exhibitions in Brazil such as Um Defeito de Cor (2022) at the MAR and Enciclopédia Negra (2021) at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo.
As the internet connection became more stable, I could see the walls of Mulambö’s atelier in the background in focus. They were painted in red, and there was a big photograph of what seemed to be a family. Family seems to be a central subject for Mulambö. He often plays with personal stories from the standpoint of the periphery of Saquarema, a coastal city north of Rio de Janeiro. “My family was born near the sea with a relation to fishing. My work today comes close to these references of other Black cultures, showing their richness and complexity in a way that is also peripheral.” His narratives about carnival, faith, and the quotidian life of people from his family and strangers of his neighborhood weave the localities with history into a broader discourse of the Afro-Brazilian community, making his work deeply personal, notwithstanding collective. “I talk about my street, about the old lady that lives around the corner, local experiences that have become global, and the other way around.”
Mulabö, O mar não tem cabelo, acrylic on cardboard, 2024.
Courtesy of the artist.
Mulambö defines his artistic approach as carnivalization — a concept rooted in the work of theorists Mikhail Bakhtin and Roberto DaMatta, both of whom interpret carnival as a moment of radical inversion, where hierarchies are overturned, the grotesque emerges, and the forbidden finds expression.
“My work as an artist is based on the idea of carnivalization. The works I produce and the debates I bring up in my work all start from a carnivalized perspective.”
My first encounter with Mulambö’s work at the exhibition SWEAT (2021) at the Haus der Kunst in Munich, was marked by the striking simplicity and abstraction of his figures. Though based on real people in Mulambö’s life, they transcend individuality through the absence of realistic details. They are painted with acrylic on simple cardboard paper. Mulambö attributes his choice of medium to the scarcity of access to regular materials but also as a way to circumvent this scarcity. “I wanted to materialize my work, which until then had been digital, focused on graphic novels.” Over time, repurposed materials became integral to his practice, shaping and supporting the narratives themselves. “Each story requires a different medium, whether cardboard, canvas, bricks, or tires. Many of the stories I am telling are born from them.” The poses and scenes depicted on the cardboard are familiar to many people from the peripheries of Brazil and perhaps other countries from Latin America. His compositions are, at times, playful but deeply poignant, speaking about realities surrounded by violence and loss. “I twist stories and the movements of violence. Some of my works are humorous and lighthearted but speak of something heavy. But one thing does not hide the other. Humor does not mask. I am talking about a deeper theme but with humor that is not disrespectful. It is about using all these universes.”
As the internet connection became more stable, I could see the walls of Mulambö’s atelier in the background in focus. They were painted in red, and there was a big photograph of what seemed to be a family. Family seems to be a central subject for Mulambö. He often plays with personal stories from the standpoint of the periphery of Saquarema, a coastal city north of Rio de Janeiro. “My family was born near the sea with a relation to fishing. My work today comes close to these references of other Black cultures, showing their richness and complexity in a way that is also peripheral.” His narratives about carnival, faith, and the quotidian life of people from his family and strangers of his neighborhood weave the localities with history into a broader discourse of the Afro-Brazilian community, making his work deeply personal, notwithstanding collective. “I talk about my street, about the old lady that lives around the corner, local experiences that have become global, and the other way around.”
Mulambö defines his artistic approach as carnivalization — a concept rooted in the work of theorists Mikhail Bakhtin and Roberto DaMatta, both of whom interpret carnival as a moment of radical inversion, where hierarchies are overturned, the grotesque emerges, and the forbidden finds expression.
“My work as an artist is based on the idea of carnivalization. The works I produce and the debates I bring up in my work all start from a carnivalized perspective.”
My first encounter with Mulambö’s work at the exhibition SWEAT (2021) at the Haus der Kunst in Munich, was marked by the striking simplicity and abstraction of his figures. Though based on real people in Mulambö’s life, they transcend individuality through the absence of realistic details. They are painted with acrylic on simple cardboard paper. Mulambö attributes his choice of medium to the scarcity of access to regular materials but also as a way to circumvent this scarcity. “I wanted to materialize my work, which until then had been digital, focused on graphic novels.” Over time, repurposed materials became integral to his practice, shaping and supporting the narratives themselves. “Each story requires a different medium, whether cardboard, canvas, bricks, or tires. Many of the stories I am telling are born from them.” The poses and scenes depicted on the cardboard are familiar to many people from the peripheries of Brazil and perhaps other countries from Latin America. His compositions are, at times, playful but deeply poignant, speaking about realities surrounded by violence and loss. “I twist stories and the movements of violence. Some of my works are humorous and lighthearted but speak of something heavy. But one thing does not hide the other. Humor does not mask. I am talking about a deeper theme but with humor that is not disrespectful. It is about using all these universes.”
As with the alternative mediums, he circumvents and dribbles deliberately using the art of deception, just as Eshu deceives and confuses. The references to the deity are manifold. Notably, the colors that appear quite frequently in his paintings are black and red. The abstraction of the figures depicted gives rise to the contrasting colors. Mulambö confesses that initially, he did not notice how much Eshu was present in his practice. As a devotee of the Afro-Brazilian religion umbanda, through the combination of themes such as carnival and football, Eshu emerged organically, later becoming an intentional force. “He first appears very naturally through how I speak and then it appears consciously through the stories I am telling.”
In some works, he feels the urge to show Eshu openly, such as in the case of Todos os caminhos eu levo comigo a commission for the exhibition Out of Many, Muchos Más (2021) at Das Schaufenster in Seattle. The figure representing a runway enslaved carriying his belongings with Eshu’s trident. In others, Eshu appears more subtle, as in G.R.E.S where he shows a fictitious school of samba, carnival associations that parade during the carnival. These parades are deeply connected with Afro-Brazilian religions, and various Orishas are depicted and celebrated. “This aspect of Eshu as a trickster is something I try to bring out through dribbling and movement. It is a way of speaking that is the foundation of my work and a tool.”
The references to Eshu are equally a channel to sustain the connection with his original audience from his Instagram profile. They may not have the means to acquire his current artwork production, but they still can recognize themselves in the paintings and installations the artist shares online. Mulambö is aware that different audiences engage with his work through various perspectives. Some grasp the deeper symbolic meanings, while others engage with their aesthetic qualities. Ultimately, Eshu ensures the message will be heard. "Since some may not be listening to what we are saying, then I will say things that are mine to say."
This text may be revised and updated regularly.
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