WALL OF OFFERINGS

Autista is an international, DIY, Brazilian art collective based out of San Francisco. For their group exhibition show, "Autista," We were invited to create an interactive installation called, "Wall of Offerings."

Wall of Offerings is our interpretation of the worship rituals of the Umbanda religion practiced in Brazil. Umbanda's roots are largely undocumented and shrouded in mystery. It is a complex Central African religion brought to Brazil by African slaves that borrows heavily from European influences. Part of Umbanda's practices is the worship of a series of deities who grant followers blessings and solutions to life's challenges. To obtain these blessings worshippers give the deities sacrifices that commonly include items like hens, cheap wine, farofa, cachaça, popcorn, cigarettes, hard cider and other types of foodstuffs or beverages depending on the “falange” or "saint."

Our version of these blessings was a generative framework that required your sacrifice of creativity to obtain a blessing. After putting some ink on the wall, you received a blessing from Brothers by Choice. We took five years’ worth of our agency artwork and built a system that hinges on the idea that you need to interject creativity into the world to get something good in return. Enjoy these series of moments that evolved from the user's input, our input and the computer's ability to pick random numbers.

Role: Concept and Illustrations

Agency: Brothers by Choice