Floresta manifesta: arte e imagens da ayahuasca em contextos urbanos brasileiros

Abstract

The psychoactive tea known as ayahuasca, which is made from two different plants from the amazon forest, is part of the culture of tens of american native groups in popular medicine of healers from countries such as Peru, Colombia and Equador, as well as in urban brazilian areas, through institucionalized religions such as Santo Daime and UDV, and in a more contemporary way by practices called “neoshamanism”. Therefore, as a phenomenon of wide geographic range, the antropological, pharmaceutical, medical-scientifical and legal studies of this issue have been for long estabilished inside the academic community, although it is far from being completed, due to updates of traditions related to indigenous groups and also by the changes they suffer within their urban handling. One of the views that is still narrowly presented is the perspective that aims the dimentions in which the visual arts are related to the use of ayahuasca in Brazil, regarding either to the artistic world in which it is found or its status as a political and epistemological instrument. The relations between ritual and religion, personal paths and artistic productions, the forest related symbologies and the urban language are investigated based on field researches with five artists from big cities who have as prevailing inspiration their experiences with the ayahuasca tea.