355
Cildo Meireles
Sal Sem Carne (Salt Without Meat)
- Estimate
- £2,500 - 3,500‡
sleeve 31 x 31 cm (12 1/4 x 12 1/4 in.)
Further Details
Cildo Meireles is a Brazilian conceptual artist who frequently engages with auditory elements in his work. He categorises the present lot, Sal Sem Carne, or Salt Without Meat, as a "sound sculpture". Sal Sem Carne is a vinyl record, accompanied by a lithographed sleeve, that features audio recordings of printed images and sounds that collectively recount the massacre of Brazil's Krahó people. This piece was greatly influenced by the close interaction with numerous indigenous groups that Meireles experienced due to his father's involvement with the Indian Protection Service. Within the LP's recordings, one can find narratives detailing the massacres of native communities as well as audio clips of authentic indigenous music and rituals.
Cildo Meireles
Brazilian | 1948At the core of Cildo Meireles' conceptual artistic practice is an interest in the functions of economic and political systems. Meireles forms part of the younger generation of Brazilian Neo-Concrete artists who were chiefly concerned with integrating spectator participation in the execution of their artworks, provoking the viewer's sensorial awareness.
In his seminal series, Insertion In Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project (1970), Meireles printed politically subversive messages on American and Brazilian banknotes and sent them into circulation. This vandalism forced viewers to confront the reality of their political and economic systems and question their role and participation within said systems. This one series is emblematic of his larger body of work, which continues to intrigue and confound viewers today.