Circles of Connection
Diego Juca De Lima Oliveira
Master of Architecture | University of Queensland
“With every sip of chimarrão, I find my roots, forge new bonds, and honor the deep traditions of connection and belonging.”
MATERIALS: Plaster + Erba + Mate
Artist Statement
My LIVING BELONGING explores my Brazilian heritage through Chimarrão. I infused plaster with charcoal and chimarrão tea, symbolising shared traditions, belonging across time, and evoking a sense of HOME.
Sharing Chimarrão is a ritual of connection, carrying the memories of HOME. Drinking chimarrão we sit in loose circles. It mirrors First Nations storytelling, where information, gossip, family stories and knowledge from elders to younger people are passed on through shared experience.
You cannot have chimarrão without fire. Charcoal in my LIVING BELONGING represents fire - an element central to Indigenous survival and land management. Living on Turrbal/Yuggera lands, I reflect on how fire has been used to shape and manage the land I now live on, in New Farm or Binkin-ba (place of the land tortoise).
Just as the ashes of a campfire represent the passing of time shared, so do the ashes of chimarrão fire manifest in the charcoal plaster. My LIVING BELONGING is creating a home through connection.
Synopsis
My LIVING BELONGING is designed to be held. At first glance it appears fragile, prompting people to gently hold it. Once they do, they will find it to be solid and intentionally heavy. For me, this is the feeling of HOME. Its weight is integral to the experience, encouraging a two-handed hold, just as my people hold the Chimarrão gourd.
The upper half of the sculpture is made with white plaster infused with charcoal. The chimarrão tea is traditionally boiled on an open fire, and the charcoal represents the transformative effect of that fire. Fire is also an element central to First Nations people’s survival and land management practices.
Fire is used to demarcate living spaces, to cook food, to keep the community warm, and to ward off malevolent spirits1, among many other functions. Thus, fire protects and strengthens COUNTRY and HOME.
The sphere’s curves symbolise a circle of sharing. These curves were shaped and carved by hand and simple tools, representing traditional practices. The visible craving lines are a testimony of how we shape and create connections both in terms of the physical environment, and the stories we create. Similarly, the dark green colouring was created by infusing the white plaster with chimarrão tea leaves, which are a central part of my HOME.
The sphere is divided into two large fragments, as if it was fractured and then restored. This symbolises rupture and reconnection. As an immigrant, it can feel as if culture and connection is ruptured, and I am cast adrift with no HOME. Yet, through the sharing of my stories, I can remake my sense of belonging. Thus, the third section of MY BELONGING is the soul of the sphere. This plaster holds the two pieces together and is infused with ashes from the fire. It represents the blending of tradition (fire and chimarrão) with a new HOME, far from Brazil.
BAY 25
