The union of excerpts from two Glauber Rocha films and an orchestra of toy monkeys promises to provoke reflections on the past, present, and future of Brazil in a new installation by Nuno Ramos. “Jolly Chimp,” the name given to the work and the exhibition that hosts it, can be visited free of charge at the Art Gallery of the Unimed-BH Minas Cultural Center between October 20th and January 3rd, 2027.
The work consists of 18 symmetrical shelves with mechanical monkeys that beat cymbals (the jolly chimps) in the center, flanked by monitors that display excerpts from “Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol” (Black God, White Devil), from 1964, and “Terra em Transe” (Land in Anguish), from 1967, on a loop. Researcher Victor da Rosa points out that Nuno subverts the anxiety of influence by incorporating and satirizing references such as Glauber Rocha. According to him, “Nuno updates the discussion of the Bahian filmmaker in a sarcastic and provocative way.”
Reflection and Aesthetic Risk
The use of popular toys brings a sarcastic humor that, according to Victor da Rosa, is rarely perceived in Nuno Ramos's work. He defines the exhibition as a work of high aesthetic risk: "It's an ambiguous exhibition, as well as a bit cynical and sardonic," he says. Through the union of toys, which emit repetitive sounds, with Rocha's films, the work creates tension in the country's history, continuing the artist's aesthetic investigations.
The use of cheap goods constitutes a "kitsch anti-fable," in Victor da Rosa's words, as well as being sarcastic, which "ironically lowers the dramatic charge of Glauber's films." Nuno himself defines the installation as a tense and cynical reflection, updating debates about history without offering simplistic answers. The artist summarizes the atmosphere of the installation: "The little monkey, laughing and banging its cymbals, is the one who will rule this hell."
About the artist
Nuno Ramos is a Brazilian visual artist and writer born in 1960 in São Paulo, the city where he lives and works. A graduate in Philosophy from the University of São Paulo (USP), he has a multidisciplinary artistic career, standing out as a painter, draftsman, sculptor, writer, filmmaker, set designer, and composer. His journey in the visual arts began in 1984 when he joined the prestigious Casa 7 atelier group. Since then, he has consolidated a solid national and international career, being the artist representing the Brazilian pavilion at the 1995 Venice Biennale, in addition to participating in four editions of the São Paulo International Biennial (1985, 1989, 1994, and 2010).
Throughout his career, he has held numerous solo and group exhibitions in major global institutions, such as MoMA in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Museums of Modern Art (MAM) in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
In addition to visual arts, Nuno Ramos has built a solid career in literature and film. As a writer, he has published notable books such as "Cujo" (1993) and "O mau vidraceiro" (2010), and was awarded the prestigious Portugal Telecom Literature Prize in 2009 for his book "Ó". In film, he wrote and directed short films such as Luz negra (2002) and Alvorada (2004).
Unimed-BH Institute
The Unimed-BH Institute celebrated its 23rd anniversary in 2026 and has the support of more than 5,900 cooperative doctors and employees of Unimed-BH. Created in 2003, it has since sponsored, supported, and carried out sociocultural and socioenvironmental projects aimed at fostering citizenship, promoting health, well-being, and quality of life, fostering the creative economy, generating work and income for various families, and valuing public spaces and the environment through projects sponsored, supported, and carried out in five areas of action: Community, Volunteering, Environment, Adoption of Public Spaces, and Culture, which are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.
