artist, she/her, NL/BR, based in Amsterdam,
curious how people observe themselves
and the world they are part of.
WORK
PROJECTS/ WORKSHOPS
CODE NOIr
2020
Neo-Futurs Dinner series at Mediamatic, AmsterdamCeramic sculptures and storytelling performance during the first dinner-course in collaboration with chef and culinary activist Lelani Lewis, spoken-word artist Rachel Rumai Diaz, and artist Suzanne Bernhardt.
Code Noir was described as a culinary journey to get a better understanding of the cultural and colonial legacy of global trade routes, and its effects on Caribbean cuisine and culture. It shows how the worldwide exchange of goods has influenced current-day dishes: for the better and worse.
During the first course, Joana was invited to hold a performative talk on her artistic research on the history of the cassava as a product that was used to industrialize slavery and enhance imperialism. Although many countries in the world have national dishes with cassave, also as a way to reject the superioritiy of European cuisine, it were the Europeans who were most likely to have introduced it there.
The cassava root did not only serve as an example to shed light on the complexity of shaping cultural and national identity, but also on how Joana personally identifies as product of globalization being raised with a Brazilian mother and Dutch father. “I never feel fully rooted and grounded in one place, one home where I am from.” (...) “Aren’t we all products of globalization? What seat do you have at the table? With whom are you sharing dinner tonight? And have you looked around who else is present here today? Who are these “others”? How do we share the passed in similar and different ways? Are we willing to listen to stories others than the ones we already know?
In collaboration with Atelier Code Noir, this work has been presented between 2020-2024 and changed according to the occasion: e.g. Keti Koti at the National Theatre The Hague (2024), Scheepsvaartmuseum (2024) and Lawfirm Nautadutilh (2023).
How Cassave Travelled the World (2019), ceramic cassaves fired with pitfire technique, with ash and charcoal. Scheepsvaartmuseum, Amsterdam, 2024
Code Noir Dinner, Black Achievement Month, Nautadutilh, 2023 Photograph: Marion Visser
Code Noir Dinner, Mediamatic, 2020,
Photograph:
Anisa XhomaqiHortus Botanicus Leiden, 2020
Performance talk, artistic research ‘How Cassave Travelled the World’