How do waters and paths relate to ways of inhabiting, working and narrating Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil, and how does this research transform Renata’s gaze and painting?
Artistic research · Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil
Águas de Dentro
A project by Renata Alberigi. Site-specific artistic research with painting at its centre and a public archive of the process.
01 / Project
Research, creation and circulation
Águas de Dentro begins with the field research Renata already develops in Caeté-Açu and expands this method to other areas of Chapada Diamantina. Walking, photography, sketchbooks, historical research, conversations, colour palettes and soundscapes will feed a series of eight paintings.
Central question
Deliveries and public structure
Pictorial creation
8 new paintings measuring 100 × 80 cm, sketchbook and process documentation.
Field research
Caeté-Açu, Vale do Pati and Mucugê/Igatu, with photography, sound, conversations and local guides.
Mini-documentary
Film of up to 15 minutes about the research experience and painting process.
Online website
Public portal available in English, Portuguese, French and Spanish, planned to remain online for 5 years, with galleries and access categories including the Atlas of Colour and Sound Atlas.
Municipal School
Presentation of the paintings and film, a conversation with the team and about 400 booklets for colouring and creating.
02 / Research
Previous field research in Caeté-Açu
The galleries bring together records made in Caeté-Açu, Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil. Water, rocks, paths and vegetation are observed as visual and sensory material rather than as a scientific survey.
Ponte Nova
2025 · oil on canvas · field study at Ponte Velha, Caeté-Açu.
1 · Field photograph
2 · Sketchbook study
3 · Painting
Poço da Maternidade
2026 · oil on canvas · field study at Cachoeira da Fumaça, Chapada Diamantina.
1 · Field photograph
2 · Sketchbook study
3 · Painting
Áureo
2025 · oil on canvas · field study at Ponte Velha, Caeté-Açu.
1 · Field photograph
2 · Sketchbook study
3 · Painting
Field galleries
Waters of Caeté-Açu
Surface, transparency, reflection, margins and the relationship between water and rock. Previous field research in Caeté-Açu, Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil.
30 images
Rocks and paths
Texture, scale, layers, passage and material support in previous field research in Caeté-Açu.
29 images
Vegetation and environmental transitions
A visual field notebook on plants, textures, colours and transitions. The project notes that the Chapada Diamantina National Park includes examples of Atlantic Forest, Cerrado and Caatinga.
19 images
03 / Atlas of Colour
Atlas of Colour
A visual category within the project website. Each entry combines a field photograph with filled colour samples and HEX references, and may later connect to sketchbook pages, revised identifications and related paintings.
Flower · green, lilac and yellow
Water and rock · amber
Water · reflection
Cactus · blue-green surface
Lichen and rock
Flowering vegetation · yellow
Leaf and rock
04 / Sound Atlas
Sound Atlas
A category within the project website for recordings made in each research area: water, paths, wind, vegetation, birds, animals and authorised local activities. No sound will be published as evidence for a place unless it was recorded there.
Water
current · waterfall · bank
Path
steps · rock · crossing
Environment
wind · vegetation · relative silence
Local life
birds · animals · authorised activities
05 / Routes
Three complementary research areas
The project connects the territory already lived and researched in Caeté-Açu (four trails plus five days of local research) with a seven-day/six-night immersion in Vale do Pati and a four-day/three-night historical field axis through Mucugê and Igatu. Local guides or conductors will be sought according to each route.
4 trails + 5 local research days
Caeté-Açu
Water, vegetation, rocks, memory, conversations and repeated return to the studio.
7 days · 6 nights
Vale do Pati
Walking, permanence, water, agriculture, housing, work, hospitality and soundscape.
4 days · 3 nights
Mucugê / Igatu
Mining histories, stone construction, water, archives, memory and contemporary life.
Historical research and sources
- Theodoro Sampaio · 1905 — Travel, drawing, landscape and cartography.
- Maria Cristina Dantas Pina · 2001 — Slavery, work and trajectories in Mucugê.
- Vale do Pati research · 2022/2025 — Territory, agriculture, housing and tourism.
- IPHAN · Igatu — Historical ensemble, ruins and mining.
- ICMBio · Chapada Diamantina National Park — Environmental context, including Atlantic Forest, Cerrado and Caatinga.
06 / Paintings
Eight paintings
The eight new 100 × 80 cm paintings will be developed progressively throughout the field research, interleaved with walks, trips and returns to the studio. Production time is three weeks per painting: 24 cumulative weeks of studio work for the eight works. The works will be organised by movements and questions rather than by a mandatory painting for each place.
Proposal
Work 01
Proposal
Work 02
Proposal
Work 03
Proposal
Work 04
Proposal
Work 05
Proposal
Work 06
Proposal
Work 07
Proposal
Work 08
07 / Film
Mini-documentary
A film of up to 15 minutes will combine the experience of the research, local narratives, sound, landscape and the painting process. Filming and documentation will follow the fieldwork and stages of the paintings. Documentary editing/post-production and creation/consolidation of the project website are planned as a three-month production cycle by the audiovisual/digital team, in parallel with Renata’s studio work. The website will preserve a broader archive than the final film.
Previous audiovisual work by the team
Small references from Renata and Axel’s previous work. They are not footage from Águas de Dentro.
08 / School
Presentation at the Municipal School of Caeté-Açu
The public presentation will bring together the eight paintings, the mini-documentary, a conversation with the team and about 400 black-and-white booklets for children to colour and create from drawings derived from Renata’s research.
Previous educational and exhibition experience
Two complete archival galleries document previous experiences that connect exhibition, dialogue and artistic activity with students and teachers: the Museu de Antropologia do Vale do Paraíba (MAV) and EducaMais Jacareí — Espaço Tomie Ohtake.
MAV · exhibition and activity with municipal-school children
Complete archival gallery from the Museu de Antropologia do Vale do Paraíba (MAV), Jacareí, during Renata’s 2018 educational and exhibition activities.
13 images
EducaMais Jacareí · Espaço Tomie Ohtake
Complete archival gallery of the 2017 installation, talk and artistic activities with teachers and secondary-school students at EducaMais Jacareí — Espaço Tomie Ohtake.
41 images
09 / Team
Team and local knowledge
Renata Alberigi
Painter and visual artist. Leads the artistic research, sketchbook, pictorial decisions, eight paintings and public presentation.
Renata Alberigi portfolio ↗
Axel Alberigi · A.X.L.
Artist, songwriter and audiovisual director, founder of RUADOFLOW. In Águas de Dentro he is responsible for photography, sound, mini-documentary, editing and website.
A.X.L. — website ↗Local guides
Local guides or conductors will be sought according to each route, integrating safety, access and knowledge of the territory.