In São Paulo, Brazil, a huge mural covering 1,581 square meters of a building's side wall was inaugurated, painted with ashes collected from the fires ravaging the country. The work, made with a mixture of glue, ashes from the Amazon, the Cerrado, and the Pantanal, as well as mud from floods that occurred in southern Brazil, aims to raise awareness about deforestation in the Amazon.
The mural depicts a desolate landscape with cracked drought-ridden soil and fallen trunks from the fires, featuring the prominent figure of indigenous leader Alessandra Korap at the center. The artist Mundano, responsible for the mural, collected materials from different ecosystems affected by the drought during a weeks-long expedition.
The activist emphasized the importance of using tools like art to denounce the situation, especially directing her message to the Cargill family, owners of one of the world's leading agricultural companies and connected to deforestation in Brazil. Mathew Jacobson from Stand.earth criticized the company for failing to uphold previous promises related to sourcing products from deforested areas.
Indigenous leader Alessandra Korap participated in the mural's inauguration via video call and highlighted the need to protect forests, referring to Cargill's broken promises. Activists plan to send copies of the mural to each member of the Cargill family to highlight the consequences of the destruction caused by deforestation.
