At the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, Pélagie Gbaguidi presents 'Guardians of Cosmos,' an installation of five paintings housed within a wooden tent-like structure that functions as both shelter and surface. Each painting, marked by abstract gestural traces, is dedicated to a primordial element—food, water, forest, air, and wildlife—while their reverses depict West African house plans, linking memory and ecology to architecture and community. Anchored in Brazilian constitutional texts on housing rights, the work connects spiritual, ecological, and political frameworks, reflecting on colonial legacies and social justice. As a contemporary griot, Gbaguidi weaves ancestral knowledge, oral traditions, and decolonial thought into a visual choreography that invites viewers into a layered dialogue on heritage, dwelling, and collective imagination.
