João Luiz Musa | Ver o Mundo
VER O MUNDO
an exhibition by João Musa
The near passes; the far remains. Photography is a form of writing in which sound becomes water. Or an eyelid. What hides when we wake up? What comes to light when we look? To see the world. How? Through the line that space makes in time, through others and through myself. Through the blue water tank, the invisible swimming pool, the phantom fountain, and that road crossing the rain-damp field, with the sun that simply began to blow. There are always the others, and there are always the panes of glass, masks, and infinite reflections that torment me but also compose me – like your eyes, my eyes, our eyes together, seeing the world. Seeing is a way of being.
Alberto Martins
Luciana Brito Galeria is pleased to present João Luiz Musa – Ver o Mundo [Seeing the World], the artist’s first solo exhibition since 2012. Conceived for the gallery’s Pavilion space, the exhibition features eighteen photographs that form part of the research conducted for his livre-docência, a postdoctoral academic qualification, at the University of São Paulo (ECA-USP). The research brings photography and memory into dialogue through an examination of his own trajectory, connecting personal experience, artistic practice, and the making of photographs. Like the thesis, the exhibition reaffirms João Luiz Musa’s interest in photography as a field of experimentation and a form of knowledge, in which image and experience mutually shape one another. Ver o Mundo was developed through exchanges with artist and writer Alberto Martins.
João Luiz Musa - Ver o Mundo
Opening – November 07, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
On view through December 19
In dialogue with Alberto Martins
João Luiz Musa’s interest in photographic processes runs through both his artistic practice and his work as a researcher and professor, forming a central thread in his investigation. For Musa, photography does not end with the moment of capture: editing, sequencing, choice of medium, printing, reproduction, and presentation all contribute actively to the creation of the work. In this sense, Ver o Mundo gives material form to a process of inquiry, allowing the artist to bring to a close a cycle of production in which experimentation, reflection, and the materiality of photography are inseparably linked.
In the research undertaken for his livre-docência, João Luiz Musa revisits his own path through photography, using it as a starting point to consider the transformations photography has undergone in Brazil. From the analog processes used in the 1970s to the possibilities of digital imaging today, he examines how methods of production affect both the construction and perception of an image. Rather than setting out to present a narrative, the exhibition is organized around the autonomy of each photograph and what its formal and technical qualities can reveal. The decision for this exhibition to show only digital images made over the past decade does not represent a break with this historical inquiry. Instead, it underscores the transformation of photographic media itself. In this context, natural and urban landscapes, as well as interior spaces, bear witness to that shift: these contemporary images carry within them the experience the artist has accumulated over decades of research into photographic processes.
Having his own studio-laboratory gives João Luiz Musa precise control over color, density, contrast, and printing processes, but above all, it provides a dedicated space for experimentation. This close attention to technique is inseparable from his poetic inquiry. Rather, it is through the interplay of technical mastery, experimentation, and reflection that he discovers new creative possibilities. His research thus points to a broader understanding of photography, not simply as a record or finished result, but as an ongoing process of constructing, transforming, and shaping the image.
