Patricia Leite: Landscape of Legend
An enchanting tapestry recently made its debut at Thomas Dane Gallery, as part of the exhibition Paisagem de Lenda (Landscape of Legend), evoking precious wisdom that has not only become too elusive in modern-day life – but is in danger of being lost forever. Mumuru (por Burle Marx) (2024), by Brazilian artist Patricia Leite, made with São Paolo-based, Uruguayan tapestry maker Jorge Francisco Soto, draws on the beauty of the Brazilian landscape and stories that Leite grew up with from the Tupi-Guarani indigenous people.
Shaped like a lake, woven with the enchanting flower Vitória Régia (or Giant Lily Pad) – known as mumuru, or in Britain – Victoria Amazonica, the tapestry evokes a haunting story long associated with the flower, presenting stories and art, as guardians and protectors, of knowledge fast disappearing.
‘Listening to the stories again, I was moved by the legend of the Vitória Régia (or Giant Lily Pad) and decided that this would be the theme of the exhibition,’ says Leite. ‘And the narrative would revolve around a full moon and a lake of Vitória Régia. At that moment, I imagined this lake on the ground, as a tapestry.’
The story tells of a young girl, Naiá, captivated by the goddess Jaci who is embodied by the moon. Naiá dreamed of becoming a star so she could shine alongside the goddess, attracted to a lake where she could see the moon’s reflection – where she drowns. Jaci rewards her sacrifice by turning her into a unique star, that would float on water – the giant lily, whose white petals open at night for the goddess.
Image: Portrait of Patricia Leite, photo by Vicente de Mello. Image above: Patricia Leite, Mumuru (por Burle Marx), 2024 (detail), high warp kilim (tapestry), wool, cotton, polyester, acrylic, 150 x 400 cm. 59 x 157 1/2 in. © Patricia Leite. Courtesy the artist, Thomas Dane Gallery and Mendes Wood DM. Photo: EstudioEmObra.
‘I already heard the legend of the Vitória Régia (or Giant Lily Pad), just like all the other tales of Brazilian folklore,’ explains Leite. ‘But these legends inhabit the universe of childhood; they stay in memory. I started hearing them again with my granddaughter, and all of them speak of the importance of defending the environment, of protecting our forests, our rivers, our life, as the indigenous peoples have always done.’
‘There’s a lot of love and respect for the Victoria Amazonia’, says Nik Thomson, horticultural educator, co-director at Edible East and former Outreach Education Officer, at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where you can still see this incredible flower at Waterlily House in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The flower once saved the gardens from closure in the nineteenth century, attracting hoards of visitors; the story of its discovery mesmerised the nation, selling on a par with Dickens’ Pickwick papers.
Its message still resonates today. As brand consultant Jessica Andrews of Rabbit and Other Stories, commented on the relevance of the Tupi’s story inspired by the lily – ‘this is particularly pointed when you look at the rate at which we, the human population, are diminishing our sacred environmental spaces and harming the processes that give our planet eternal rebirth and rejuvenation.
We have scarred our planet and damaged it, in our human pursuit of 'progress.' At what cost?’
Image: Patricia Leite, Mumuru (por Burle Marx), 2024, high warp kilim (tapestry), wool, cotton, polyester, acrylic, 150 x 400 cm. 59 x 157 1/2 in.
‘These stories are so important – they are the guardians of the plants and bring it all together,’ echoes Nik Thomson. ‘We’ve lost a lot of knowledge from Brazil, with gold seekers going in and taking the hoard, not realizing there is so much incredible knowledge there. We used the country for gold, thought we were superior.’
The devastating impact of extractivist industries like gold mining is still happening. Something Indigenous leader Davi Kopenewa speaks out on – urgently asking us all to listen and to act. Patricia Leite urges us to pay attention to his work, particularly The Falling Sky.
Kopenewa asks us to reflect on our own ways of listening, and our own systems of knowledge exchange. Addressing students at Princeton University in 2023, talking about the process of learning, Kopenewa points out - ‘you are very used to listening through words, but you don’t listen to your spirit.’
Leite’s weaving of beauty, story and myth into her work, inspires us to shift the very way we pay attention. ‘The indigenous peoples are wise, they know how to preserve, and they are shouting this to us’, she says.
Leite is no stranger to textiles. ‘I have always been an observer and admirer of tapestry. From the oldest ones, through the beautiful carpets of the great landscaper Burle Marx,’ she explains. She cites an incredible Cooperative of Women Weavers (CEAG) in Diamantina, Minas Gerais, as a previous influence. ‘These are women who get together every day to make Arraiolos rugs (a technique brought to Brazil by the Portuguese)’. As well as the carpets of Brazilian landscaper and nature artist, Burle Marx, to whom Mumuru is dedicated.
Image: Installation view, Patricia Leite, Paisagem de Lenda, Thomas Dane Gallery, London, 7 June–3 August 2024. © Patricia Leite. Courtesy the artist, Thomas Dane Gallery and Mendes Wood DM. Photo: Ben Westoby.
Leite’s working on the tapestry with Soto, a student of Ernesto Aroztegui (1930-1994), who pioneered textile art in Latin America and whose techniques included high-warp vertical weaving or kilim, was deliberate – a process that took them six months.
‘In this carpet, I wanted to use the craftsmanship of a weaver whose skill could become extinct if we are not careful, as art schools in Brazil no longer include this subject in their curriculum and the new generations are not learning the trade. It is a carpet that illustrates an indigenous legend, made by Latin American artists.’
‘The landscape has been part of my pictorial repertoire for some time now. A dreamlike landscape interpreted pictorially through paints, brushes…’ explains Leite.
Image: Patricia Leite, Mumuru (por Burle Marx), 2024 (detail), high warp kilim (tapestry), wool, cotton, polyester, acrylic, 150 x 400 cm. 59 x 157 1/2 in. © Patricia Leite. Courtesy the artist, Thomas Dane Gallery and Mendes Wood DM. Photo: EstudioEmObra.
‘I try to draw attention to magical moments, suggesting contemplation and, above all, a pause in this insane and inward-focused life we are being led to live. When I hear these single indigenous legends, I feel the importance of life, of contact with nature, of preserving the life we are destroying at a rapid pace, to a point where perhaps there is no return.’
As Kopenawa said at Princeton. ‘It’s important for you to respect the lungs of the Amazon and to not destroy it, to value this through art.’ With Leite’s art highlighting an ancient warning on loss, it’s down to modern life, to listen.
Guest edited by Ruthie Collins
Find out more about Patricia Leite:
www.thomasdanegallery.com/artists/348-patricia-leite/profile
Shaped like a lake, woven with the enchanting flower Vitória Régia (or Giant Lily Pad) – known as mumuru, or in Britain – Victoria Amazonica, the tapestry evokes a haunting story long associated with the flower, presenting stories and art, as guardians and protectors, of knowledge fast disappearing.
‘Listening to the stories again, I was moved by the legend of the Vitória Régia (or Giant Lily Pad) and decided that this would be the theme of the exhibition,’ says Leite. ‘And the narrative would revolve around a full moon and a lake of Vitória Régia. At that moment, I imagined this lake on the ground, as a tapestry.’
The story tells of a young girl, Naiá, captivated by the goddess Jaci who is embodied by the moon. Naiá dreamed of becoming a star so she could shine alongside the goddess, attracted to a lake where she could see the moon’s reflection – where she drowns. Jaci rewards her sacrifice by turning her into a unique star, that would float on water – the giant lily, whose white petals open at night for the goddess.
‘I already heard the legend of the Vitória Régia (or Giant Lily Pad), just like all the other tales of Brazilian folklore,’ explains Leite. ‘But these legends inhabit the universe of childhood; they stay in memory. I started hearing them again with my granddaughter, and all of them speak of the importance of defending the environment, of protecting our forests, our rivers, our life, as the indigenous peoples have always done.’
‘There’s a lot of love and respect for the Victoria Amazonia’, says Nik Thomson, horticultural educator, co-director at Edible East and former Outreach Education Officer, at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where you can still see this incredible flower at Waterlily House in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The flower once saved the gardens from closure in the nineteenth century, attracting hoards of visitors; the story of its discovery mesmerised the nation, selling on a par with Dickens’ Pickwick papers.
Its message still resonates today. As brand consultant Jessica Andrews of Rabbit and Other Stories, commented on the relevance of the Tupi’s story inspired by the lily – ‘this is particularly pointed when you look at the rate at which we, the human population, are diminishing our sacred environmental spaces and harming the processes that give our planet eternal rebirth and rejuvenation.
We have scarred our planet and damaged it, in our human pursuit of 'progress.' At what cost?’
‘These stories are so important – they are the guardians of the plants and bring it all together,’ echoes Nik Thomson. ‘We’ve lost a lot of knowledge from Brazil, with gold seekers going in and taking the hoard, not realizing there is so much incredible knowledge there. We used the country for gold, thought we were superior.’
The devastating impact of extractivist industries like gold mining is still happening. Something Indigenous leader Davi Kopenewa speaks out on – urgently asking us all to listen and to act. Patricia Leite urges us to pay attention to his work, particularly The Falling Sky.
Kopenewa asks us to reflect on our own ways of listening, and our own systems of knowledge exchange. Addressing students at Princeton University in 2023, talking about the process of learning, Kopenewa points out - ‘you are very used to listening through words, but you don’t listen to your spirit.’
Leite’s weaving of beauty, story and myth into her work, inspires us to shift the very way we pay attention. ‘The indigenous peoples are wise, they know how to preserve, and they are shouting this to us’, she says.
Leite is no stranger to textiles. ‘I have always been an observer and admirer of tapestry. From the oldest ones, through the beautiful carpets of the great landscaper Burle Marx,’ she explains. She cites an incredible Cooperative of Women Weavers (CEAG) in Diamantina, Minas Gerais, as a previous influence. ‘These are women who get together every day to make Arraiolos rugs (a technique brought to Brazil by the Portuguese)’. As well as the carpets of Brazilian landscaper and nature artist, Burle Marx, to whom Mumuru is dedicated.
Leite’s working on the tapestry with Soto, a student of Ernesto Aroztegui (1930-1994), who pioneered textile art in Latin America and whose techniques included high-warp vertical weaving or kilim, was deliberate – a process that took them six months.
‘In this carpet, I wanted to use the craftsmanship of a weaver whose skill could become extinct if we are not careful, as art schools in Brazil no longer include this subject in their curriculum and the new generations are not learning the trade. It is a carpet that illustrates an indigenous legend, made by Latin American artists.’
‘The landscape has been part of my pictorial repertoire for some time now. A dreamlike landscape interpreted pictorially through paints, brushes…’ explains Leite.
‘I try to draw attention to magical moments, suggesting contemplation and, above all, a pause in this insane and inward-focused life we are being led to live. When I hear these single indigenous legends, I feel the importance of life, of contact with nature, of preserving the life we are destroying at a rapid pace, to a point where perhaps there is no return.’
As Kopenawa said at Princeton. ‘It’s important for you to respect the lungs of the Amazon and to not destroy it, to value this through art.’ With Leite’s art highlighting an ancient warning on loss, it’s down to modern life, to listen.
Guest edited by Ruthie Collins
Find out more about Patricia Leite:
www.thomasdanegallery.com/artists/348-patricia-leite/profile