One of the most original voices in contemporary Brazilian art, Adriana Varejão’s diverse practice comprises painting, sculpture, photography and installation. Her sources are many, encompassing baroque art, history, architectural ruins, natural sciences and theatre.

This publication, Polvo accompanies an exhibition of the same name – the fourth solo presentation to date by the artist at Victoria Miro, London.

This new body of work addresses the ambivalent notion of interracial identity in Brazil, where historically race has assumed a social and cultural function. Varejão has created her own oil paints, named after thirty-three definitions of skin colour taken from the official 1976 Brazilian census.

Varejão also presents an installation of eleven self-portraits painted in an academic style using these paints. The skin tones in the paintings range in various shades from dark to light.

This publication features a newly commissioned text by Margherita Dessanay.