Isaías Sales (Ibã Huni Kuin)

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Tarauacá, AC, 1964. – Lives and works in Tarauacá, Brazil.
PIPA 2016 nominee.

Ibã Huni Kuin (T.I. Huni Kuin Rio Jordão) is a txana (singing master) of what constitutes the MAHKU – Artistic Movement of the Huni Kuin. The Huni Kuin live in the border of Brazil and Peru, however, they are also spread out amongst several indigenous lands in the state of Acré. They speak the hatxa kuin dialect, belonging to the linguistic family Pano. They have a history of close contact with the ‘seringalista’ economy – owners of farmlands who dealt with the extraction of natural rubber from the Hevea plants , which dominated the Amazonian region during a crucial period of the XX century.

Ibã is an indigenous researcher, having consolidated his career as specialist in musical huni kuin arts by participating in encounters and publications. In the first decade of the current century, Ibã inagurated LABI – Laboratory of Image and Sound (UFAC Forest) and began to experiment, together with his son the researcher and visual artist Bane Huni Kuin, the composition of drawing-chanting-video as a means of academic research and artistic expression.

In 2010-2011, they organised the 1st Encounter of Artistic Draughtsmen in the indigenous land Huni Kuni of the Jordão River – originating the MAHKU – Artistic Movement of the Huni Kuin. Held the exhibition ‘The spirit of the Forest- drawings the chantings of nixi pae’, Rio Branco, Acre. In 2012, held the opening ceremony and participated in the group exhibition ‘Histoires de Voir – Show and Tell’ at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France. The documentary ‘ The spirit of the forest’ was showcased at the exhibition.

In 2013, MAHKU inaugurated and participated in the group exhibition ‘MIRA – Contemporary Visual Arts of the Indigenous People’ at the Cultural Centre, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil and also during its edition in 2014 in Brasilia.

In 2014 participated in the group exhibitions ‘Histórias Mestiças’ at Tomie Ohtake Institute and ‘Made by…Feito por Brasileiros’ at Cidade Matarazzo, São Paulo, Brazil. Solo exhibition ‘Nixi Paewen Namate – O sonho do nixi pae’ at SESC Rio Branco, Brazil. Participated in the Auction ‘From Silverware to Art’ at the Museum Lasar Segall. In 2015, performed the multimedia intervention (mural, chanting and video) at the closing of the X Post-Graduate Symposium in Language at UFAC, Rio Branco and showcased the feature film ‘O sonho do nixi pae – O MAHKU – Movimento dos Artistas Huni Kuin.’


"YUBE NAWA AIBU" [female boa constrictor], 2020, pen on paper, 30 x 40 cm

To learn more about Ibã Salles, please visit her full profile on the PIPA Prize website.