Aislan Pankararu

Aislan Pankararu (Petrolândia, PE, Brazil, 1990) was born in Petrolândia, a city in the interior of the state of Pernambuco and belongs to the indigenous Pankararu people. In 2019, on the verge of completing his medical degree at the University of Brasília, he rediscovered the practice of drawing that had accompanied him for years. Since then, his artistic production has been continuously evolving, expanding into painting and installation. Today, he dedicates himself exclusively to his artistic career and resides and works in São Paulo.

Aislan Pankararu’s work arises from the memory of his origins and the need to connect with and express his ancestry. Initially drawing and painting on kraft paper, and later on canvas and linen (in addition to experimenting with leather), the artist employs traditional pictorial resources from the body painting of his people to craft his lines and figures. In the three-dimensional realm, references to the materials and elements that constitute their rituals and the landscape of the caatinga (a semi-arid region in Brazil) form installations and sculptural works. In their breadth, the works evoke the visual and symbolic richness of the Pankararu people to highlight their struggle and resistance.

In 2020, in collaboration with the Humanization Committee of the University Hospital of Brasília (HUB), where he studied, he held his first exhibition Abá Pukuá (“Abá” means “man” in Tupi-Guarani, and “Pukuá” means sky in Kaypó). In 2021, he inaugurated the exhibition Yeposanóng at the Memorial of Indigenous Peoples in Brasília. In the same year, he illustrated texts for the project Teatro e povos indígenas by n-1 editions, participated in the Kaaysá Residency under the coordination of Rodrigo Villela in São Sebastião, São Paulo, and created the illustration used as the visual identity for the Indigenous.BR music festival. He produced illustrations for the 1st Indigenous Film Festival of Brazil, held at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.

In 2023, he took part in the artistic residency at People’s Palace Projects in London, culminating in the solo show Feel it at the end of his stay. In the same year, he opened Aislan Pankararu: Ancestral Mitochondria curated by Lisette Lagnado at Galatea in São Paulo. In 2024, he was nominated for the PIPA Prize, opened the solo show Aislan Pankararu: Endless River at the Salon 94 gallery in New York, and launched the publication Aislan Pankararu: Dancing with Whites, organized by Tomás Toledo and Lisette Lagnado. He has participated in several group exhibitions, including: Histórias indígenas (Museum of Art of São Paulo — MASP, São Paulo, 2023); Refundação (Reocupa Gallery — 9 de Julho Occupation, São Paulo, 2023); Brasil Futuro: as Formas da Democracia (National Museum of the Republic, Brasília; Cultural Center Casa das Onze Janelas, Belém; Ferrão Cultural Center, Salvador; Rio Museum of Art — MAR, Rio de Janeiro, 2023); Um século de agora (Itaú Cultural, São Paulo, 2022). His work is present in public and private collections, including: Itamaraty Collection – Brazilian Embassy in London; Bernardo Paz Collection (Brumadinho, MG, Brazil); Maracá Institute Collection (São Paulo, SP, Brazil); Collection of the Northeast Bank of Brazil — BNB (Fortaleza, CE, Brazil); Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand – MASP (São Paulo, Brasil).