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The blue eyes can’t disguise the origins of Mr. Jorge de Oliveira Brito. “We have always lived in Visconde de Mauá, where I was born in 1953. My father and mother grew up here, and my mother died at 100 years old, in perfect health. We are descendants of Puri indians, who used to live around here.” Native indians and European immigrants certainly came together at some point in Mr. Jorge Brito’s story, and he seems to have come to this world to bring joy to others. He has always worked on farms, then tried his hand at construction work and one day came across the sculpture of an ox head. “I was at a cousin’s house where I was going to spend the night. I went to bed asking God to help me make something like that sculpture one day. I went back home and found a piece of wood in the forest, and so I made a head. It was a bit crooked, but it was definitely an ox head.” Mr. Jorge carried on making animals, improving each time. “I spent some time looking after the house of the artist Roberto Magalhães, which was full of pieces of wood and roots, and so I went on making my animals. One day he said I should paint them. I thought it was weird, because it had never crossed my mind. I liked them rustic. But he brought me some paint, and at night I tried to paint them. I wasn’t sure about the result, but he really liked it and said each one should have a different kind of decoration. I was impressed, because he was a famous artist.” Mr. Jorge continues to dig out roots and collect branches which he transforms into the things his heart dictates. “Sometimes a piece of wood is about to rot or sink into the water. I turn it into an animal or a fish. It might be just a branch, but one day it used to be a tree that housed many birds, and so I transform it into a bird. I think that keeps Nature happy.” With a generous heart, Mr. Jorge plays the guitar, tap dances at parties, teaches his art to children and composes poetry. “I can’t write, but I can compose poetry.” |
