Undernation

Undernation (2022) is an original artwork developed during a heightened election period in Brazil, a transition between political shifts, under the fascist threat of Jair Bolsonaro, and still reeling from the hangover of the pandemic, where we, from the independent art scene, were trying, under more extreme conditions than usual, to support each other.

The feeling of frustration and rejection of supremacist, fundamentalist religious, anti-vaccine ideas and the total disregard for public suffering inspired me to, let's say, "reinterpret" the coat of arms of the republic.

Distorting the image of one of the country's most traditional symbols was an interesting protest strategy against the entire conservative current that year. The pink/magenta coloring was also intentional, due to all the semiotics involved: it's not a "common" color, it's explicit, apparent, extroverted. It was, in a way, a novelty in my work. Traditional heavy/extreme art doesn't usually use very saturated or vibrant tones, except for the warm red scale. Magenta is rarely seen in this context.

Drawing a parallel between the original republic's coat of arms (1) and Undernation (2):

> (1) The star inverts, forming a (2) pentagram.
> (1) The Southern Cross, originally formed by normal stars, also inverts into the form of (2) circumscribed pentagrams.
> (1) The sword transforms into an (2) inverted cross - note: the largest inverted cross in my graphic works is this one, to date, whose inevitable meaning is a critique of dogmatic ideologies allied to the State.

> In place of the original phrase (1) Federative Republic of Brazil, we have (2) ALTERNATIVE Republic of Brazil, as a response from a counter-culture that needed to be highlighted, above average, at that time.

> In the background of the original coat of arms, in place of (1) branches and sun rays, we have (2) a circle of rustic and varied nails, symbolizing the "wounds" of the nation, ultimately under the figure of the then far-right president targeted by this protest art.

Undernation is an alternative cry, whose first pre-order debuted the presence of my work in the state of Ceará - city of Jaguaruana. Thank you for the reservation, Isabelly Lima!