A column in yellow and blue tiles greets the visitor upon stepping into the exhibition of Paula Rego and Adriana Varejão in Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian, Lisbon. Coming closer, however, one realises – the column stands upright because of the flesh. Raw flesh, getting thinner in the middle, morphing into a strange form and then into tiles again. Flesh. Blood and body. Tiles. Being in Lisbon, where every façade is covered with historic tiles, the sculpture at the entrance asks the visitor how to position your body in a traditional space.
“Paula Rego and Adriana Varejão. Between Your Teeth”, installation view. Upon entering the exhibition, one sees this sculpture by Adriana Varejão. Copyright: Pedro Pina. Courtesy by CAM Gulbenkian
Between Your Teeth is the title of this exhibition. The title is taken from the poem Poems to the men of our time by Brazilian poet and novelist Hilda Hilst. Written in 1974, the words criticise the power of the dictatorial regime that had ruled Brazil. The power associated with greed, conquest, profit and exploitation. The exhibition was curated by Adriana Varejão, Helena de Freitas and Victor Gorgulho. Adriana Varejão is also one of the artists exhibited; it is interesting that she also initiates the juxtaposition between those two positions. The work of Varejão (Rio de Janeiro, 1964) and Paula Rego (Lisbon, 1935 – London, 2022) develop a dialogue, “reflecting on how patriarchy, colonialism and all forms of oppression mutually interact, ‘chewing up’ people and their stories”, as written in the press statement. Separated, or connected, by the Atlantic, these two artists form an intense observation of female bodies in suppressive regimes. The artists are from different generations, but their paths coincided over a period of three decades. Although their work remains autonomous, the exhibition shows where their lines intertwine. 13 rooms are erected in the exhibition space, open to explore, to look into and also – through small openings in the walls – let the gaze wander. Each space has a theme and a domestic atmosphere, revealing new dimensions of the artist’s psychological depth and imaginative power. A woman’s pregnant body, soon due or already in labour, stretched to bursting, lying on a bed. She is surrounded by two small female figures, more like angels or imaginary friends. One has her arms spread out; the other is burnt. In the background, Tupi people are attending a Catholic mass for the first time. The painting The First Mass in Brazil (1993) of Paula Rego reminds the female visitor that colonisation was also done through women’s bodies. Placed next to it is a map by Adriana Varejão, already burst open, flesh visible, partly sewn together. For Map of Lopo Homen (1992), the artist used the first Portuguese cartographic image of Brazil from 1519.
Paula Rego, “The First Mass in Brazil” © State of Paula Rego, courtesy of the artist; Adriana Varejão, “Map of Lopo Homem” © Adriana Varejã, courtesy of the artist
And then the collage works. Adding and adding and adding, as if trying to build a new future out of the past. In Turkish Bath (1960) Paula Rego used the backside of a nude portrait of her, painted by her husband, Victor Willing. She cut female body parts and faces out of magazines, glued them on, painted them over. Numbers, counting. And a letter, floating in water, maybe for future generations, like a message in a bottle yet to be delivered. In the same room, Adriana Varejão’s huge painting The Seducer (2004) shows again tiles. But this time they are monochrome and building up an immersive architecture. It resembles a bath, but there is no water. It is an empty room, about to be entered. Architecture about to be used. Soon, one imagines, the space will be filled with bodies. But then the clean tiles are cut open. Again, the visitor meets the flesh underneath. It seems as if Adriana Varejão wants to expose, wants to show that we are all human. She seeks change through the pain of cutting open. It is like a catharsis, freeing, healing. Juxtaposed is the painting Angel (1998) of Paula Rego. The female figure holds a sword and a sponge, like an offering. The woman gazes directly into the visitor’s eyes, with a slight smile, fierce in her posture. Is it necessary to cut before one heals? “Rego’s Angel can be viewed as one hand that wounds and another that prepares to cleanse or heal,” is written on the wall text.
“Paula Rego and Adriana Varejão. Between Your Teeth”, installation view. © Pedro Pina. Courtesy by CAM Gulbenkian
And then the metamorphosis begins. A pregnant body with the head of an animal; The Opossum (2013) shows Adriana Varejão before childbirth in the woods. Women’s bodies metamorphose during pregnancy, but also during each month. For women, change is a human condition. In the exhibition, kitchen tiles witness the transformation of legs and arms into fish (Kitchen Tiles with Fish, 1995). Even more creatures float out in the very end of the space. The sea, the place of beginning, but also of loss. The Sea, Where I Am to Myself Given Back in Salt, Form and Shell is the title of this room. The sea, spitting the Portuguese on the Brazilian shores, intertwining the history of both countries. “The construction of Brazilian identity was partly moulded by the traces and remains left behind by this sea (…)”, is written on the wall. Water carries fragmented stories and bodies; the room plays with the imaginative and the real. Paula Rego painted a Mermaid (2007), tossed on land, looking at the sky. Like a birth, like entering a new world, like she just found out she can actually breathe. But how to walk with a fish tail? Now the tiles are ripped down. We don’t need to follow the rules any more. Underneath tradition, the flesh is shown. Tongue with Flower Pattern (1998) of Adriana Varejão is juxtaposed with Possession (2004) of Paula Rego. To possess means to own something. To own the own body, be free from the male gaze. The woman in the painting poses as she wishes to, not bothering about who is watching her why. And then, in Triptych (1998), the woman looks the visitor directly in the eye – even in pain. Paula Rego depicts abortion out of protest against a referendum in 1998, which prevented legalisation of abortion in Portugal. Later, in 2007, the female choice was made legal. The woman in pain looks the visitor directly in the eye, probing, or like saying it’s your fault. She makes herself seen.
Paula Rego, “Triptych”; “Abbot Hall”; “Lakeland Arts Trust” © State of Paula Rego, courtesy of the artist
The exhibition asks how to stay human in a brutal environment. How to stay aware of one’s own flesh. How to return the gaze, how not to look away, how to stay here, how to stay present. Look at me. The women in these artworks are not here to please but to be recognised as humans. Like the Angel, they cut, clean and heal.
Angelika Wienerroither
Info:
Paula Rego e Adriana Varejão: Between Your Teeth
11/04 – 22/09/2025
Centro de Arte Moderna, Gulbenkian, Lisbona
Rua Marquês de Fronteira, 2, Lisbona
Curated by Adriana Varejão, Helena de Freitas and Victor Gorgulho
Scenography di Daniela Thomas
Link to exhibition
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