Laura Lima

Anhanguá, 2023

‘Anhanguá’ takes its name from a protective spirit in Tupi mythology – an elusive guardian of animals, especially females and their young. Traditionally appearing as a white deer with glowing red eyes, Anhanguá is known to shift form, embodying the fluidity and unpredictability of the natural world. In Lima’s interpretation, this mythic presence is translated into a sculptural form composed of raw cotton threads dyed with natural pigments – such as coffee, black tea, turmeric, hibiscus, cashew leaves, annatto, and more – interwoven with steel wire.

As with much of Lima’s practice, the work blurs boundaries between material and myth, structure and spirit. The delicately dyed threads create a tactile, porous body that resists fixed form, encouraging the viewer to move around it, to look closely, and to sense its quiet, watchful energy. At once fragile and resilient, Anhanguá honours the protective instincts embedded in myth, while drawing attention to cycles of care, transformation, and the intimate life of materials.