Artist Talk: Rosana Paulino in Conversation with Cecilia Alemani

Join us for an in-depth conversation between artist Rosana Paulino and Cecilia Alemani, Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Director & Chief Curator of High Line Art, as they discuss Paulino’s mural commission, The Creation of the Creatures of Day and Night, located adjacent to the High Line at 22nd Street.

Rosana Paulino’s work confronts Brazil’s colonial past and its enduring impact on Black and Indigenous communities. Her High Line commission, The Creation of the Creatures of Day and Night, expands on her Mangrove series, which portrays tree-women as mythological archetypes and symbols of the Brazilian biome. Paulino draws parallels between mangroves and Brazil’s Black and Indigenous people, both of whom have been historically mistreated and exploited. In this work, she transforms the mangrove into a sacred site of transformation, where life and death—like day and night—exist in a continuous cycle. Reimagining mythological archetypes, the artwork places Black and Indigenous figures at the center of a new cosmology. Through her work, Paulino challenges dominant narratives, creating space for reflection and resistance.

The conversation will delve into Paulino’s practice, process, imagery, and personal iconography, exploring themes of memory, ancestry, and feminism. It will also examine how her work engages with broader discussions on the lasting effects of colonialism and the threats facing not only Brazil’s biome, the Amazon rainforest, and Indigenous ways of life but also the significance of bringing this dialogue to an international audience on the High Line in New York City.