El otro color
Curated by Bruno Leitão
Museo Nacional del Prado
Madrid, Spain
https://www.museodelprado.es/recurso/el-otro-color-de-flavia-vieira/05ecbbcf-18a2-7bfd-86c3-2b1c045ffcfe

 
Video projection
2025
© Felipe Huertas
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Film Credits
Title: El Otro Color
Directed by: Flávia Vieira
Head of Production: Elisa Celda
Photography: Adrián Cores del Río
Editing and Sound Design: Óscar Vincentelli
Camera Assistant: David Villegas and Virginia Rita Luengo
Still Photography: Felipe Huertas
Production Company: Lejos Lejos
Graphic design: Rafa Celda
With the participation of Silvia Brasero Méndez (Conservator-Restorer of Cultural Heritage at the Museum of Costume in Madrid), and texts by Flávia Vieira and José Luís Gomes
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With the support of
Centro de Residencias Artísticas - Matadero, ArtWorks, Porto City Council - PLÁKA, Embassy of Portugal in Madrid - Cultural Portugal and Inland - Campo Adentro
 
 
 
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Flávia Vieira's project El Otro Color explores the colonial and cultural relationships between Central America and Europe through the history of the Logwood tree (Palo de Campeche), a tree whose black pigment shaped European fashion and economy in the 16th and 17th centuries. Featuring images of the only known specimen of his tree in Spanish territory, along with material from the Museo Nacional del Prado and the Museo del Traje in Madrid, the video critically reflects on identity, power, and the diaspora of he color black in the Western imagination. By connecting past and present, the work questions processes of appropriation, exoticization, and cultural hybridization. In revisiting historical narratives, it encourages reflection on the persistence of these dynamics in contemporary societies.
In addition to exploring colonial geopolitics and the trade flows that shaped European cultural production, the project emphasizes the influence of Latin America in the construction of Iberian identity. The relationship between fashion, art and power is addressed through Spanish court attire and its color symbolism, revealing how the black dye from Logwood tree was appropriated and transformed into a symbol of prestige. The video is part of a broader discussion on collective memory and colonial remnants in visual culture, inviting viewers to reconsider the impact of transatlantic exchanges in contemporary times.​​
 
 
Bruno Leitão​​​
 
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Teaser
https://vimeo.com/1094783195?share=copy​