Ernesto Neto and the Huni Kuin: Aru Kuxipa--Sacred Secret

"This is a new story; it is called Aru Kuxipa. It is new, but it is old. Aru Kuxipa to me means our people, the old ones, living together with nature, in balance with our tradition. Aru means secret, sacred. Kuxipa means like a god." --Txana Bane

The exhibition "Aru Kuxipa" was conceived by Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto as a personal tribute to the Huni Kuin. Held at TBA21 - Augarten, the show was a vibrant demonstration of ancestral futures, a term that unpacks potentials for creating a future that is also deeply rooted in cultures of tradition. Through multiple exchanges between members of thirty-two Huni Kuin communities in Brazil, this publication brings together threads from anthropology, art, and science that are interwoven, like the movement of a serpent, with essay contributions, oral histories, drawings, and traditional song. Together, they outline the way unique kinships produced within an indigenous cosmo-vision can shape our present moment.

Copublished with Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna

Contributors
Mila Cataldo, Damian Christinger, James Clifford, Anna Dantes, Fabiano Txana Bane Sales Huni Kuin Kaxinawa, Francesca von Habsburg, Marcelo Piedrafita Iglesias, Jos Yube de Lima Kaxinawa, Leopardo Yawa Bane Sales Huni Kuin Kaxinawa, Manoel Dua Buse Vandique Kaxinawa, Ricardo Moebus, Jeremy Narby, Ernesto Neto, Osvaldo Isaka Manduca Mateus Kaxinawa, Tiago Paulino Sales Txana Xin Bena, Virgulino Ix Rodrigues Sales Kaxinawa, Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen, Franziska Sophie Wildf rster, Daniela Zyman