MoCA Resident Artist Johab Silva’s solo exhibition Tales of the New World revisits the story of the discovery and conquest of Brazil using virtual and augmented reality, digital projections, and video. Based loosely on a 16th century letter written to the King of Portugal by colonizer Pero Vaz de Camina, Tales of the New World situates visitors in an environment covered in blue and white azulejo tiles and opulent Baroque forms inspired by the Portuguese colonial architecture in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. An abstracted, futuristic interpretation of Brazil’s colonial history, Tales of the New World invites viewers to immerse themselves in a strange, beautiful world and embark on a journey into the unknown.

Johab Silva
b. 1982, Paraiba, Brazil
Lives in Reston

Working in NFTs, VR, generative media and performance art, Brazilian artist Johab Silva explores environmental issues, time and chance, and the fabrication, consumption, and collection of digital media. Johab Silva holds an MFA from Maine College of Art & Design and a Graduate degree in Arts in Education from the Corcoran College of Art & Design.  Silva’s works have been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues including The NKR Neuer Kunstraum (Düsseldorf, Germany); Santo André Museum of Art (São Paulo, Brazil); The Corcoran Gallery of Art (Washington, DC); Transformer Gallery (Washington, DC); The Kreeger Museum (Washington, DC); The Institute of Contemporary Art (Portland, ME) and Cody Gallery at Marymount University (Arlington, VA).  Silva’s works have been reviewed in The Washington Post, Sculpture Magazine, Cruzeiro do Sul Newspaper, PBS, and many other media venues.