Afro-Brazilian and Angolan Traditions Reflected in Texture, Symbolism, and Storytelling
Larissa de Souza, Faith and Magic (Detail), 2024. Courtesy of the artist and Simões de Assis. Photographer: Estúdio em Obra
Larissa de Souza’s solo exhibition “Faith Charm” presents a compelling new body of work exploring Afro-Brazilian and Angolan traditions. Running from January 28 through March 1 in São Paulo, the exhibition features 15 new pieces accompanied by a curatorial text by Mariane Beline. Through this series, de Souza delves into “simpatias”—popular enchantments deeply embedded in cultural memory and resilience.
A self-taught artist born in São Paulo in 1995, Larissa de Souza creates predominantly figurative paintings that center the experiences of Afro-diasporic women, weaving together personal and collective narratives. Her practice is characterised by a rich interplay of texture and materiality, incorporating embroidery, tiles, and other elements to evoke a tactile, spiritual depth. In this interview, she discusses the inspirations and processes behind “Faith Charm” and the ways in which her art engages with ancestry, memory, and faith.
ART AFRICA: Your work often explores the Afro-diasporic female experience. How does Fé Feitiço build upon or expand this ongoing narrative in your practice?
Larissa de Souza: The series of paintings “Faith Charm” expands my work’s narrative of female representation by exploring a crucial point: memory. From a subjective perspective, my work with painting emerges from this place. I grew up surrounded by black women in a squatter settlement, the result of a lack of access to housing. My mother, other black women, and solo mothers migrated to an abandoned place in the city, where we made our home.
Reflecting on my construction as a woman, I realise that my experiences shape it. I unconsciously began to portray women until, at my first solo exhibition in 2021, someone asked me: “Why do your paintings mostly represent women?” I realised how much these representations are linked to my personal experience. However, when I put them out into the world, I realised that these experiences, within the representations of Afro-diasporic women, are actually profoundly collective.
The “Faith Charm” series begins with my memories of my experiences with my family and the women around me: herbal treatments and magic to attract prosperity, keep away negative energies, and bring love. Everything we learn through orality is passed down from generation to generation.
I believe in feminine power, and unlike men, I see in women a unique sensitivity and an openness to the occult, the mysterious, and the transcendent. In every gesture and tradition, women carry an ancestral connection that rescues the magic and power of life.
Larissa de Souza, Café Gostoso, 2024. Courtesy of the artist and Simões de Assis. Photographer: Estúdio em Obra
The exhibition is deeply rooted in Brazilian and Angolan folk rituals and charms. Can you share a specific experience from your time in Angola that particularly influenced this body of work?
The experience I lived in Angola, which had a significant influence on the development of this series, was when I was able to visit the “plazas”, these vibrant local markets, where you can find a bit of everything: from food, clothes, perfumes, accessories, handicrafts, to herbs used for both medicinal treatments and spiritual purposes. As I watched the herbs being sold, I was impressed by the quantity and diversity of elements that reminded me of the products found in Afro-religious stores in Brazil. This caught my attention, but what really touched me was realising that most of the natural herb sellers were women.
I was curious to hear their stories and learn more about the beliefs that permeate the local culture. I reflected on the combination of popular beliefs that inhabit the imagination of both Brazilians and Angolans, but without necessarily delving into a specific religious aspect. After all, we know about the enormous influence of Bantu culture in Brazil, a heritage directly linked to Angola.
Then, I heard the word “Gipalo” for the first time. This popular belief in Angola describes a disease that mainly affects children, resulting from a parent’s extramarital relationship. It’s a controversial and divisive topic there. According to local tradition, treatment for this condition can only be done through healers or by recommending herbs made by herb sellers who sell in the plazas. This ancestral practice, which mixes healing and belief, deeply inspired me and made me reflect on the traditions that cross generations, linking Brazil and Angola through an invisible network of knowledge.
Larissa de Souza, Changing the Past, 2024. Courtesy of the artist and Simões de Assis. Photographer: Estúdio em Obra
You incorporate embroidery, tiles, and stones into your paintings, adding a rich textural dimension. How does materiality convey the themes of faith and enchantment in this series?
I believe that the representations I make and the materialities I incorporate into my work unfold and transform with each new series of paintings I develop. For me, these materialities are an extension of the domestic environment of women’s daily lives. Stones, tiles, textures, embroidery and fabrics (elements often used to decorate the home) all come into the scene, reflecting feminine practice. In addition, conch shells and beads, symbols of African spirituality, are given a central place in my work to talk about ancestry.
The construction of these applications on canvas, the assemblages, seeks to express the unspeakable, that which cannot be said with words, but which is communicated viscerally through shapes and materials. It is in this space where the visual, the symbolic and the emotional meet, giving voice to what often remains hidden in the figuration of the images themselves.
Your use of surrealism and dreamlike imagery suggests a connection between faith and the subconscious. How do you see these elements interacting in your work?
In my work, surrealism and oneiric images explore the connection between faith and the subconscious. Often abstract and symbolic, faith manifests itself through these images, providing a plunge into the inner world where the rational dissolves. These forces are intertwined, with the subconscious revealing deeper experiences and beliefs that cannot be expressed logically. 
Larissa de Souza, Faith and Magic, 2024. Courtesy of the artist and Simões de Assis. Photographer: Estúdio em Obra
Colour is a powerful element in your paintings, and this exhibition prominently features blues and purples. What drew you to this palette, and how does it relate to the themes of the show?
Like the whole process of my paintings, the result is always a big surprise for me. Even though I sometimes know the subject I want to portray, the shapes, textures and colours emerge spontaneously, almost unconsciously. However, as I looked at the works on the wall of the Simões de Assis Gallery, I noticed how the colours dialogue with each other and how blue and purple stand out. Blue is a constant colour in my work, but purple is a novelty. I believe these colours can represent the occult, magic, and melancholy that permeates my paintings.
As a self-taught artist, your journey has been shaped by hands-on learning and experimentation. How do you think this unconventional path has influenced the way you approach storytelling in your art?
As a self-taught artist, my path has always been based on experimentation and hands-on learning. Having no formal education has given me the freedom to explore art in a more intuitive way. This unconventional path has allowed me to develop a more personal and direct relationship with my work, as each series of paintings results from continuous discovery.
I think this freedom has also had an impact on the way I approach the narrative in my art, where my storytelling is built up organically. Constant experimentation allows me to access deeper layers of my own subjectivity and turn this into something visual, without being tied to conventions or expectations.
The exhibition will be on view at Simões de Assis until the 1st of March, 2025.
