Tonico Lemos Auad is included in 'What Separates Us'

HS Projects presents ‘What separates us', a group exhibition by four Brazilian artists, Tonico Lemos Auad, Adriano Costa, Rodrigo Matheus and Matheus Rocha Pitta, at Sala Brazil, the Embassy of Brazil in London. ‘What separates us' examines ideas of value systems and exchange mechanisms from cultural, social and economic perspectives. The exhibition explores ideas of international trade, travel and mobility, whilst examining the ‘real value' of art and the system in which it is made and validated.

Tonico Lemos Auad presents a sound installation, ‘Desafinado/Out of Tune', 2003/2008, played on a loop which is being shown in the UK for the first time. Auad recorded a well-known blind Brazilian singer whistling the recognisable Brazilian ballad Desafinado by Joao Gilberto continuously for several hours. Auad observes the performer's inhaling becoming demonstrably more demanding, selecting a point where the tune begins to break down. The resulting sound is melodious and melancholic and immediately familiar to any Brazilian, but the pauses charge the empty spaces with a distinct longing. The artist was interested in mapping the emptiness through this work, although now the work has also become a reflective commentary on the current socio-economic situation in Brazil.