Neo Norte 5.0

Galeria Marta Traba Memorial da América Latina São Paulo, Brazil

Upside~Down Downside~Up

a sculpture selected for

Neo Norte 5.0

4 Dec 2025 - 18 Jan 2026

Upside~Down Downside~Up

The international exhibition Neo Norte 5.0, curated by Chilean multidisciplinary artist Tere Chad, opens at Galeria Marta Traba in the Memorial da América Latina, São Paulo, from 4 December 2025 to 18 January 2026. The project brings together artists whose work challenges established cultural hierarchies, repositions the Global South at the center of the conversation, and explores hybridities born from migration, identity, and collective memory.

Featured among the selected works is Upside~Down Downside~Up, a sculptural installation by Giuseppe Mario Urso. The piece presents Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe and the Statue of Liberty as mirrored counterparts, dressed in one another’s garments and linked through a delicate transparent divide. This inversion transforms the icons from fixed national symbols into fluid embodiments of shared hopes, suffering, and resilience.

The context of Brazilian religious syncretism, where African, Indigenous, and Catholic traditions coexist and intertwine, creates a powerful backdrop for Urso’s work. São Paulo—home to vibrant expressions of Candomblé, Umbanda, Catholic devotion, and numerous hybrid practices—offers a unique lens through which to view Upside~Down Downside~Up. The sculpture resonates with Brazil’s cultural ability to merge identities, reframe sacred symbols, and build meaning through encounter rather than separation.

“In a place like Brazil, where syncretism is lived daily and spirituality bridges cultural histories, the dialogue between these two icons gains new depth,” says Urso. “Their encounter asks viewers to reflect on difference, similarity, and the possibility of shared humanity.”

Neo Norte 5.0 expands the project’s ongoing mission to foreground decolonial thinking, diasporic narratives, and the South–South cultural networks that define contemporary art across the Americas and beyond.

Upside~Down Downside~Up

A exposição internacional Neo Norte 5.0, curada pela artista chilena multidisciplinar Tere Chad, abre na Galeria Marta Traba, no Memorial da América Latina, em São Paulo, de 4 de dezembro de 2025 a 18 de janeiro de 2026. O projeto reúne artistas cujas obras desafiam hierarquias culturais estabelecidas, reposicionam o Sul Global no centro da conversa e exploram hibridismos nascidos da migração, da identidade e da memória coletiva.

Entre as obras selecionadas está Upside~Down Downside~Up, uma instalação escultórica de Giuseppe Mario Urso. A peça apresenta Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe e a Estátua da Liberdade como contrapartes espelhadas, vestidas com as roupas uma da outra e conectadas por uma delicada divisória transparente. Essa inversão transforma ícones tradicionalmente fixados como símbolos nacionais em representações fluidas de esperanças partilhadas, sofrimento e resiliência.

O contexto do sincretismo religioso brasileiro, onde tradições africanas, indígenas e católicas convivem e se entrelaçam, cria um pano de fundo poderoso para a obra de Urso. São Paulo — lar de expressões vibrantes de Candomblé, Umbanda, devoção católica e inúmeras práticas híbridas — oferece um olhar singular para a leitura de Upside~Down Downside~Up. A escultura dialoga com a capacidade cultural do Brasil de mesclar identidades, ressignificar símbolos sagrados e construir significado a partir do encontro, não da separação.

“Em um lugar como o Brasil, onde o sincretismo é vivido no cotidiano e a espiritualidade conecta diferentes histórias culturais, o diálogo entre esses dois ícones ganha uma nova profundidade”, afirma Urso. “Esse encontro convida o público a refletir sobre diferença, semelhança e a possibilidade de uma humanidade compartilhada.”

Neo Norte 5.0 amplia a missão contínua do projeto de destacar o pensamento decolonial, narrativas diaspóricas e as redes culturais Sul–Sul que definem a arte contemporânea nas Américas e além.

Neo Norte 5.0

4 December 2025 - 18 January 2026

Galeria Marta Traba - Memorial da América Latina - São Paulo, Brazil

Upside Down ~ Downside Up by Giuseppe Mario Urso
Memorial da América Latina
São Paulo

A Conversation with GM Urso by Nero Black

When Giuseppe Mario Urso speaks about his work, he does so with the calm precision of someone who understands that art’s power often lies in its quietest inversions. His piece, Upside~Down Downside~Up—presented in Neo Norte 5.0, curated by Tere Chad—brings together two monumental symbols: Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe and the Statue of Liberty. But Urso refuses to let these icons rest on their pedestals. Instead, he flips them—literally and conceptually—to ask what happens when identity, faith, and migration meet in unexpected proximity.

Your work often deals with displacement, identity and mirrored perspectives. What first inspired you to create Upside~Down Downside~Up?

Giuseppe Mario Urso: The initial impulse came from thinking about symbols we take for granted. For many in Mexico—especially the mothers of the disappeared—Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe holds deep emotional weight. Meanwhile, the Statue of Liberty functions almost globally as a symbol of migration: of loss, hope, and the possibility of a new life. I wanted to place these two figures in dialogue, to see what happens when their roles and visual identities begin to overlap. By swapping their garments and colours, their cultural boundaries blur. Their humanity becomes more visible.

The piece shows the two figures as mirror images connected by a transparent divide. What does this fragile connection represent?

Urso: The transparent connection suggests vulnerability. Borders, whether physical or psychological, are fragile no matter how solid they might seem. The viewer can see straight through the divide, which for me symbolizes the illusion of separateness. When we bring two powerful icons into such close proximity, the question becomes almost unavoidable: Are we truly different, or are we essentially the same?

Neo Norte, curated by Tere Chad, has become a platform for challenging traditional hierarchies in art. How does your work align with the project’s mission?

Urso: Neo Norte is a bold, necessary initiative because it disrupts the idea of a cultural “centre” and “periphery.” It opens a space where voices from outside traditional art capitals can speak powerfully and on their own terms. My work often questions dominant narratives—particularly those around migration, identity, and cultural memory. So for me, Neo Norte isn’t just an exhibition; it’s a conversation about how art can decentralize power and ignite connections across borders.

In many of your pieces, we see inversion—things flipped upside down or positioned in unexpected ways. Why is inversion such a recurring method in your practice?

Urso: Inversion forces us to pause. When a familiar object or icon is flipped, rotated, or displaced, our perception resets. We look again. That moment of disorientation is precious—it creates room for empathy and reflection. I’m not interested in breaking symbols; I’m interested in revealing their hidden or forgotten meanings. Inversion becomes a tool to shake loose the assumptions we didn’t know we were carrying.

Your work blends spirituality, politics, and personal narrative. How do you navigate the emotional weight behind themes like disappearance and migration?

Urso: With humility. These themes carry real pain and real histories. When I reference them, especially in connection with communities like the mothers of the disappeared, my role is to create space—not to speak for anyone, but to invite viewers into a reflection they may otherwise avoid. Art can hold complexity; it can hold contradiction. That’s why I work the way I do.

Looking ahead, what do you hope audiences take with them after experiencing Upside~Down Downside~Up within the Neo Norte context?

Urso: I hope they feel a sense of closeness—to others, to their own memories, to stories they may not have encountered before. If they walk away questioning what divides us and what connects us, then the work has done its job. Ultimately, I hope viewers leave with fresh eyes—willing to see beyond borders, beyond symbols, and beyond the narratives they’ve inherited.

You will be present at the opening of Neo Norte 5.0, and this will also be your first time in Brazil. What are you most looking forward to experiencing during your visit?

Urso: It’s true—this will be my first time in Brazil, and I feel both honoured and excited. Brazil has always represented, for me, a place where cultural, spiritual, and ecological worlds are deeply intertwined. I want to experience that directly. One of the things I’m most eager to hear—literally—is the sound of Brazilian nature. From the Atlantic Forest to Amazonian soundscapes, Brazil contains some of the most complex acoustic environments on the planet. For an artist like me, who works frequently with listening, silence, and unseen presences, this is an extraordinary opportunity.

You’re also developing an ecological sound installation that gives voice to the victims of global warming. How does the Brazilian environment connect with this new work?

Urso: The ecological installation I’m working on focuses on “voices” that often go unheard—communities displaced by rising seas, environments transformed by drought, species pushed to the threshold of extinction. When I think of Brazil, I think of a country that is on the front line of the climate crisis but also one that holds unparalleled biodiversity and ancestral ecological knowledge.

Hearing Brazilian natural soundscapes is fundamental for me. They are not just environmental—they are political, historical, and emotional. Every forest, river, and biome contains stories of resilience and vulnerability. When these sounds enter my work, they allow the installation to speak not only about global warming, but from withinan ecosystem that is itself under threat.

Your work often connects symbolic, spiritual, and ecological narratives. How does Brazil’s rich tradition of syncretic spirituality and symbolic geometry relate to your current artistic explorations?

Urso: Brazil has an extraordinary ability to merge and re-interpret symbols—whether in religion, art, design, or ritual. This syncretism is not just a cultural fact; it is a creative force.

Lately, I’ve been researching geometric traditions across different cultures, and I am interested in how Brazilian visual languages—Indigenous patterns, African-diasporic graphic systems, and popular ornamental forms—create their own forms of mapping, memory, and storytelling.

While exploring these, I was reminded of sona drawings from the Chokwe people of Central Africa—mathematical, narrative-based geometric paths. Brazil has its own rich geometric vocabularies, found in Indigenous graphics, body painting, feather art, and even in the rhythmic structures of Afro-Brazilian rituals. I’m not making direct equivalences—each tradition is unique—but I am deeply inspired by how these Brazilian forms use geometry not just for decoration but as a way to organise knowledge, trace stories, and connect human experience to the land.

This resonates strongly with my practice. Geometry, for me, is a way of thinking, a way of listening. It's a bridge between the spiritual and the ecological.

How do these new interests influence your presence in Neo Norte 5.0 and your encounter with the Brazilian audience?

Urso: Neo Norte is about re-centring perspectives—about letting the South speak in its own voice. My presence in Brazil feels like an invitation to listen before speaking. Listening to the land, to the sounds, to the cultural rhythms and spiritual geometries that shape daily life.

Brazilian audiences bring their own histories, their own spiritual sensibilities, and their own experiences of migration, loss, and resilience. I hope Upside~Down Downside~Up will resonate with these sensibilities, but I am equally eager to learn from the conversations that emerge.

In a way, my visit is a continuation of the artwork itself—another moment of mirroring, of encounter, of questioning what separates us and what brings us together.

Neo Norte 5.0

Galeria Marta Traba Memorial da América Latina São Paulo, Brazil

Upside~Down Downside~Up

A Conversation with GM Urso by Nero Black

Salterton Arts Review

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