On the façade of Vermelho, the mural painting reproduces a signpost for the presence of landmines in war zones. The title plays with the danger of minefields and with the expression “minas”, which in Portuguese is a double entendre designating both girls (girls from the hood) and also landmines.

Portas [Doors], 2020, is a series of seven paintings of white doors on A4 sheets of sulfite paper, on whose back the artist had printed images of weapons used in the series Espiãs [Spies], (2020), where Longo Bahia portrays female spies whose main profession was not “being a spy”. They were public figures – actresses, singers, athletes, media stars, socialites – who worked undercover to help their countries or their causes. The paintings are mounted in pivoting metal frames that allow viewing from both sides

Dora Longo Bahia preparing the installation Explosão Plástica (Inevitável) [Exploding Plastic (Inevitable)], 2022. The mural painting depicts an explosion spreading across the walls of the room overlapping sets formed by wooden boards and white canvases. Some of these boards are work tables from her studio and some are tables from projects carried out by the artist and the study group she tutors, Depois do fim da arte [After the end of Art]. The boards are full of marks from works with scars from the use of paint and craft knife.

In the installation Explosão Plástica (Inevitável) [Exploding Plastic (Inevitable)], 2022, a mural painting, depicting an explosion spreading across the walls of the room overlaps sets formed by wooden boards and white canvases. Some of these boards are work tables from her studio and some are tables from projects carried out by the artist and the study group she tutors, Depois do fim da arte. The boards are full of marks from works with scars from the use of paint and craft knife.

In the installation Explosão Plástica (Inevitável) [Exploding Plastic (Inevitable)], 2022, a mural painting, depicting an explosion spreading across the walls of the room overlaps sets formed by wooden boards and white canvases. Some of these boards are work tables from her studio and some are tables from projects carried out by the artist and the study group she tutors, Depois do fim da arte. The boards are full of marks from works with scars from the use of paint and craft knife.

In the installation Explosão Plástica (Inevitável) [Exploding Plastic (Inevitable)], 2022, a mural painting, depicting an explosion spreading across the walls of the room overlaps sets formed by wooden boards and white canvases. Some of these boards are work tables from her studio and some are tables from projects carried out by the artist and the study group she tutors, Depois do fim da arte. The boards are full of marks from works with scars from the use of paint and craft knife.

Juliana Frontin in the sound presentation during the opening of Perigo! [Danger!]

Juliana Frontin in the sound presentation during the opening of Danger!.
November 16, 2022.

Exhibition view of Minas (trabalho em andamento) [Girls / Mines (work in progress)] – a series of portraits produced between 1964 and 2022. The title is a double entendre the Portuguese language where Minas mean both a young girl (a girl from the hood) and a landmine. In this series, she uses her own childhood drawings done between 1964 and 1973 as support in the composition of an ongoing series of portraits of women who are important to her artistic trajectory. The set, so far, contains 155 portraits.

Exhibition view of Minas (trabalho em andamento) [Girls / Mines (work in progress)] – a series of portraits produced between 1964 and 2022. The title is a double entendre the Portuguese language where Minas mean both a young girl (a girl from the hood) and a landmine. In this series, she uses her own childhood drawings done between 1964 and 1973 as support in the composition of an ongoing series of portraits of women who are important to her artistic trajectory. The set, so far, contains 155 portraits.

Minas (trabalho em andamento) [Girls / Mines (work in progress)], is a series of portraits produced between 1964 and 2022. The title is a double entendre the Portuguese language where Minas mean both a young girl (a girl from the hood) and a landmine. In this series, she uses her own childhood drawings done between 1964 and 1973 as support in the composition of an ongoing series of portraits of women who are important to her artistic trajectory. The set, so far, contains 155 portraits.

Minas (trabalho em andamento) [Girls / Mines (work in progress)], is a series of portraits produced between 1964 and 2022. The title is a double entendre the Portuguese language where Minas mean both a young girl (a girl from the hood) and a landmine. In this series, she uses her own childhood drawings done between 1964 and 1973 as support in the composition of an ongoing series of portraits of women who are important to her artistic trajectory. The set, so far, contains 155 portraits.

Minas (trabalho em andamento) [Girls / Mines (work in progress)], is a series of portraits produced between 1964 and 2022.

The title is a double entendre the Portuguese language where Minas mean both a young girl (a girl from the hood) and a landmine.

In this series, Dora Longo Bahia uses her own childhood drawings done between 1964 and 1973 as support in the composition of an ongoing series of portraits of women who are important to her artistic trajectory. The set, so far, contains 155 portraits.

Portrait of actress Camila Mota.

Minas (trabalho em andamento) [Girls / Mines (work in progress)], is a series of portraits produced between 1964 and 2022. The title is a double entendre the Portuguese language where Minas mean both a young girl (a girl from the hood) and a landmine. In this series, she uses her own childhood drawings done between 1964 and 1973 as support in the composition of an ongoing series of portraits of women who are important to her artistic trajectory. The set, so far, contains 155 portraits.

Minas (trabalho em andamento) [Girls / Mines (work in progress)], is a series of portraits produced between 1964 and 2022.The title is a double entendre the Portuguese language where Minas mean both a young girl (a girl from the hood) and a landmine.

In this series, Dora Longo Bahia uses her own childhood drawings done between 1964 and 1973 as support in the composition of an ongoing series of portraits of women who are important to her artistic trajectory. The set, so far, contains 155 portraits.

Portrait of the visual artist Flávia Ribeiro

Minas (trabalho em andamento), 1964-2022, é uma série em andamento que emprega desenhos criados por Dora Longo Bahia entre os anos de 1964 e 1973 como suporte material na composição de um conjunto em andamento de retratos de mulheres importantes em sua trajetória artística. A partir de 2021, Dora passa a utilizar seus desenhos de infância como base para retratar amigas, artistas, curadoras, professoras e historiadoras da arte, na série que, até o momento, conta com 155 retratos.

Minas (trabalho em andamento) [Girls / Mines (work in progress)], is a series of portraits produced between 1964 and 2022.

The title is a double entendre the Portuguese language where Minas mean both a young girl (a girl from the hood) and a landmine.

In this series, Dora Longo Bahia uses her own childhood drawings done between 1964 and 1973 as support in the composition of an ongoing series of portraits of women who are important to her artistic trajectory. The set, so far, contains 155 portraits.

Portrait of vistual artist Nazareth Pacheco.

Exhibition view of Minas (trabalho em andamento) [Girls / Mines (work in progress)] – a series of portraits produced between 1964 and 2022. The title is a double entendre the Portuguese language where Minas mean both a young girl (a girl from the hood) and a landmine. In this series, she uses her own childhood drawings done between 1964 and 1973 as support in the composition of an ongoing series of portraits of women who are important to her artistic trajectory. The set, so far, contains 155 portraits.

Minas (trabalho em andamento) [Girls / Mines (work in progress)], is a series of portraits produced between 1964 and 2022.

The title is a double entendre the Portuguese language where Minas mean both a young girl (a girl from the hood) and a landmine.

In this series, Dora Longo Bahia uses her own childhood drawings done between 1964 and 1973 as support in the composition of an ongoing series of portraits of women who are important to her artistic trajectory. The set, so far, contains 155 portraits.

In this photo and portrait: the visual artist and professor Lúcia Koch.

Minas (trabalho em andamento) [Girls / Mines (work in progress)], is a series of portraits produced between 1964 and 2022. The title is a double entendre the Portuguese language where Minas mean both a young girl (a girl from the hood) and a landmine. In this series, she uses her own childhood drawings done between 1964 and 1973 as support in the composition of an ongoing series of portraits of women who are important to her artistic trajectory. The set, so far, contains 155 portraits.

Exhibition view of Minas (trabalho em andamento) [Girls / Mines (work in progress)] – a series of portraits produced between 1964 and 2022. The title is a double entendre the Portuguese language where Minas mean both a young girl (a girl from the hood) and a landmine. In this series, she uses her own childhood drawings done between 1964 and 1973 as support in the composition of an ongoing series of portraits of women who are important to her artistic trajectory. The set, so far, contains 155 portraits.

Minas (trabalho em andamento) [Girls / Mines (work in progress)], is a series of portraits produced between 1964 and 2022.

The title is a double entendre the Portuguese language where Minas mean both a young girl (a girl from the hood) and a landmine.

In this series, Dora Longo Bahia uses her own childhood drawings done between 1964 and 1973 as support in the composition of an ongoing series of portraits of women who are important to her artistic trajectory. The set, so far, contains 155 portraits.

Portrait of the visual artist Rochelle Costi.

Dora Longo Bahia has been producing portraits, especially of women, since the late 1980s. In the Desconhecida [unknown] series from 1996, Longo Bahia depict murdered women, not identified by the police, based on photographic images provided by the Legal Medical Institute of São Paulo (IML) and from multiple visits to the same Institute.

One of Dora Longo Bahia’s main concerns in her work from the late 80s, early 90s, are the often invisible acts of violence against women in their own homes.

In this series of oil paintings, entitled Desconhecida (the feminine version of Unknown), the artist depicts bodies of women killed during acts of domestic violence. The research for these images were done in the Forensic Medicine Institute of São Paulo (Institúto Médico Legal, São Paulo).

In Circassian Beauties, Longo Bahia portrays 50 Circassian women. Circassians are an ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region, and these women were considered by bourgeoise western society in the 19th century as extraordinarily beautiful and elegant. After the Circassian Genocide (1763-1864), which ended 90% of this ethnic group, Circassian women became objects of desire in Western circuses, which featured women dressed as Circassians, and who were also exploited as concubines or slaves. Longo Bahia’s Circassian Beauties are constructed with digital negatives mounted on mirrors, simulating glass negatives.

In Circassian Beauties, Longo Bahia portrays 50 Circassian women. Circassians are an ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region, and these women were considered by bourgeoise western society in the 19th century as extraordinarily beautiful and elegant. After the Circassian Genocide (1763-1864), which ended 90% of this ethnic group, Circassian women became objects of desire in Western circuses, which featured women dressed as Circassians, and who were also exploited as concubines or slaves. Longo Bahia’s Circassian Beauties are constructed with digital negatives mounted on mirrors, simulating glass negatives.

In Circassian Beauties, Longo Bahia portrays 50 Circassian women. Circassians are an ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region, and these women were considered by bourgeoise western society in the 19th century as extraordinarily beautiful and elegant. After the Circassian Genocide (1763-1864), which ended 90% of this ethnic group, Circassian women became objects of desire in Western circuses, which featured women dressed as Circassians, and who were also exploited as concubines or slaves. Longo Bahia’s Circassian Beauties are constructed with digital negatives mounted on mirrors, simulating glass negatives.

Corpo Político [Political Body], 2021, is a video produced for the program Political Bodies, Gender and Race, for the virtual conference WORLDVIEWS : Latin American Art and the Decolonial Turn, held at the Centre for Visual Culture of the University of Cambridge. The work, originally shown as a videoconference, is divided into chapters: the Introduction includes excerpts from an audiobook version of Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan (1651). Chapter I focuses on Western Civilization [the head (mind or spirit) vs. the body]; chapter II on Colonization [the “human being” (or the “civilized” white man) vs. the other], chapter III on Power [the phallus (or the State) vs. her], chapter IV on Rape (the male subject vs. the female object), chapter V on the Reified Body (body vs. flesh), chapter VI on the Collective Body (the system vs. the “numerous”), and chapter VII on Revolution.
Duration: 18′

Corpo Político [Political Body], 2021, is a video produced for the program Political Bodies, Gender and Race, for the virtual conference WORLDVIEWS : Latin American Art and the Decolonial Turn, held at the Centre for Visual Culture of the University of Cambridge.

The work, originally shown as a videoconference, is divided into chapters: the Introduction includes excerpts from an audiobook version of Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan (1651). Chapter I focuses on Western Civilization [the head (mind or spirit) vs. the body]; chapter II on Colonization [the “human being” (or the “civilized” white man) vs. the other], chapter III on Power [the phallus (or the State) vs. her], chapter IV on Rape (the male subject vs. the female object), chapter V on the Reified Body (body vs. flesh), chapter VI on the Collective Body (the system vs. the “numerous”), and chapter VII on Revolution.

Autobiografia obscena [Obscene Autobiography], 2022, is a video created for the Latin American Speaker Series (LASS) hosted by Sur Gallery (Toronto, Canada) in May 2022. In the video, initially shown as a videoconference, images and sounds from various works by Longo Bahia are superimposed or juxtaposed. A female voice narrates a story created from the appropriation and collage of texts from different authors. The text was translated into Portuguese for the audio with English subtitles. The title Autobiografia obscena is the result of the mutilation and appropriation of two of the texts used in the video: Autobiography of Red, by Canadian Anne Carson, and A obscena senhora D [The Obscene Lady D], by Brazilian Hilda Hilst.
Duration 22’40’’

Autobiografia obscena [Obscene Autobiography], 2022, is a video created for the Latin American Speaker Series (LASS) hosted by Sur Gallery (Toronto, Canada) in May 2022. In the video, initially shown as a videoconference, images and sounds from various works by Longo Bahia are superimposed or juxtaposed. A female voice narrates a story created from the appropriation and collage of texts from different authors. The text was translated into Portuguese for the audio with English subtitles. The title Autobiografia obscena is the result of the mutilation and appropriation of two of the texts used in the video: Autobiography of Red, by Canadian Anne Carson, and A obscena senhora D [The Obscene Lady D], by Brazilian Hilda Hilst.
Duration 22’40’’

Longo Bahia has been producing Calendars from her paintings in recent years.

In Revolutions, each month is illustrated by a revolution that took place in that period.

Graphic Design Regina Araki.

Calendar for the year 2022. The Black Flag series is composed of images of contemporary groups struggling against the living conditions determined by capitalism. If the white flag represents surrender, the black flag represents resistance. The black flag is used by anarchists since at least 1883 when Louise Michel raised a black flag during a demonstration against unemployment in Paris, shouting: “bread, work or bullets”. Black Flag is also the name of an American hardcore band, formed in 1976 by Greg Ginn, promoting the do-it-yourself punk ethic and aesthetic.

Calendar for the year 2023, with images of women involved in armed combat. Each portrait illustrates the month of the portrayed’s birthday.

In Autorretrato desviado [Deviated Self-Portrait], 2021, Longo Bahia made 11 portraits, in hues of green and yellow, of women who do not follow the absolutism of beauty standards maintained by cosmetic interventions.

In the seriesAutorretrato desviado [Deviated Self-Portrait], 2021, Longo Bahia made 11 portraits, in hues of green and yellow, of women who do not follow the absolutism of beauty standards maintained by cosmetic interventions.

In the seriesAutorretrato desviado [Deviated Self-Portrait], 2021, Longo Bahia made 11 portraits, in hues of green and yellow, of women who do not follow the absolutism of beauty standards maintained by cosmetic interventions.

In the seriesAutorretrato desviado [Deviated Self-Portrait], 2021, Longo Bahia made 11 portraits, in hues of green and yellow, of women who do not follow the absolutism of beauty standards maintained by cosmetic interventions.

In the series Who’s Afraid of Red? (2000), Dora Longo Bahia paints a group of images that refer to her personal memories: from photos in family albums to, as seen here, portraits of friends.

The images acquire a whitish appearance, which alludes to a memory deformed by time or perception. To these paintings were added marks, cuts and scratches: aggressive interventions in red.

The title of the series was inspired by the attack suffered by the work Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue III, by the American artist Barnett Newman. In March 1986, Gerard Jan Van Bladeren entered the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and used a box cutter to tear eight incisions into Newman’s painting.

In the series Who’s Afraid of Red? (2000), Dora Longo Bahia paints a group of images that refer to her personal memories: from photos in family albums to, as seen here, portraits of friends.

The images acquire a whitish appearance, which alludes to a memory deformed by time or perception. To these paintings were added marks, cuts and scratches: aggressive interventions in red.

The title of the series was inspired by the attack suffered by the work Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue III, by the American artist Barnett Newman. In March 1986, Gerard Jan Van Bladeren entered the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and used a box cutter to tear eight incisions into Newman’s painting.