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Maqueson Pereira da Silva says his work is inspired by the world in which he lives, the Amazon. His father was a rubber tapper and boat maker in Cruzeiro do Sul, and odds were that he would follow in his footsteps. But at 5 years old he was sent to a boarding school run by German priests, and it was the start of a journey that would result in an intense training in classic marquetry, learned in Switzerland and Germany. He only returned to his homeland in 1995 and opened a marquetry studio to teach the technique to local underprivileged youngsters.
Precise cuts of the scalpel into thin wooden strips of different textures and colours shape boxes, pictures and furniture.
Maqueson uses the roots of trees that fell in the forest long ago which he finds with the help of local lumberjacks and local communities.
He defends the preservation of the forest around Alto Juruá – the largest biodiversity reserve in the world. Apart from making sure all the wood he uses is certified, he wants to start a project to promote the reforesting of the river banks because “men come, cut all the trees down and breed cattle close to the river sources. But if we want to continue living of the forest, we must live for the forest which is to say in its defence”. |
