OS ENCANTADOS

^{Os Encantados – The Enchanted Ones is a documentary inquiry by artist and photographer Romane Iskaria, combining photography, documentary film, archival materials and narratives drawn from field testimonies. Developed in several chapters, this project emerged from a long-term immersion in Northeastern Brazil.

The research engages in dialogue with the knowledge systems of Jurema Sagrada, a spiritual tradition rooted in Indigenous matrices and enriched through Afro-Brazilian heritages. It explores the invisible layers of the territory between beliefs, presences and forms of resistance and examines the relationships between memory, spirituality, territory and transmission.

The investigation begins with the quilombola communities of Ipiranga in Conde, Northeastern Brazil, before expanding into an in-depth study of Jurema Sagrada. Through this process, Romane Iskaria develops an approach situated between documentary investigation and intuitive sensitivity, grounded in long-term engagement, listening and relational practice.

Her work brings together portraits, landscapes, gestures, objects and botanical elements, constructing a sensitive visual narrative of the territories she traverses. At the heart of this research lies Jurema Sagrada, whose sacred plant Mimosa hostilis Benth occupies a central place in ritual practices. Associated with the Encantados spiritual entities present in Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian cosmologies it embodies a living memory and a profound connection to the land.

In this context, many Mestres and Mestras of Jurema also practice healing through sacred plants. This dimension has led to a dedicated line of research as well as several artistic series developed by Romane Iskaria, extending the exploration of the therapeutic and spiritual knowledge linked to this territory.

The territory of Jurema thus emerges as a porous space where the boundaries between the visible and invisible blur, traversed by immaterial presences, sacred sites and narratives of survival. The project highlights the histories, spiritualities and forms of resistance of the communities connected to Jurema, while questioning dominant narratives of Brazilian identity. It pays tribute to a living heritage and to those who inhabit, protect and imagine this territory, a world both enchanted and deeply rooted in the real.}
^{Paraíba Northeast Brasil. Ongoing project.}

^{2026 Sensitive Atlas: Topography of a Living Territory, Estaçāo Cabo Branco, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil}

^{2025 Solo show, Brazilian Embassy in Brussels, Os Encantados, text by PhD student Osvaldo Falcão, BE}

^{2025 Solo show, Uzina Energisa Institute, Art Gallery, João Pessoa, Paraiba, Northeast BRAZIL
Text by PhD student in anthropology Osvaldo Falcão. Curator Serge Huot.}

^{2024 TIFF. Emerging Belgian Photography, Cultural Flemish Center BrakkeGrond, Amsterdam NE

2024 TIFF. Emerging Belgian Photography, FOMU (Museum of Photography) Antwerp BE}

^{Solo exhibition “Atlas Sensível - Topografia de um Territorio Vivo” exhibition in Estaçāo Cabo Branco in Paraíba Brazil.}

^{Within the framework of the solo exhibition Atlas Sensível, the project unfolds as an immersive installation offering a journey between documentary, storytelling and sensory experience. The exhibition includes a 45 minute documentary film, presented within an installation inspired by the public televisions found in Brazilian town squares in the 1980s, creating a collective space for listening and shared experience. It also brings together more than fifty photographs, experimental cotton paper prints and a series of works installed throughout the space in various forms.}

^{Exhibition “Os Encantados” exhibition in Uzina Energisa, art Gallery in Paraíba Brazil. Collaboration with brazilian PhD in history Osvaldo Falcāo.}

SACRED OBJECTS FROM THE IPIRANGA QUILOMBO MUSEUM

^{Exhibition view Os Encantados,Uzina Energisa Institute, art gallery, João Pessoa, Paraiba, Northeast BRAZIL 2025.}

^{Exhibition view : collage Os Encantados.
Dimension : 9mx2m.

Materials : photography, archives, texts, earth of Paraíba.

Uzina Energisa Institute, art gallery, João Pessoa, Paraiba, Northeast BRAZIL 2025.}

^{Exhibition view close-up : collage Os Encantados, Uzina Energisa Institute, art gallery, João Pessoa, Paraiba, Northeast BRAZIL 2025.}

^{Exhibition view close-up : collage Os Encantados, Uzina Energisa Institute, art gallery, João Pessoa, Paraiba, Northeast BRAZIL 2025.}

^{Exhibition view The story of Tambaba Assentamento, video installation, Plush art gallery, Brussels (BELGIUM) 2025}

^{Exhibition view Os Encantados,Uzina Energisa Institute, art gallery, João Pessoa, Paraiba, Northeast BRAZIL 2025.}

^{Exhibition view Os Encantados,Uzina Energisa Institute, art gallery, João Pessoa, Paraiba, Northeast BRAZIL 2025.}

^{Exhibition view Os Encantados, self-portrait, Uzina Energisa Institute, art gallery, João Pessoa, Paraiba, Northeast BRAZIL 2025.}

^{Exhibition view Os Encantados, research table, Uzina Energisa Institute, art gallery, João Pessoa, Paraiba, Northeast BRAZIL 2025.}

^{Exhibition view, Os Encantados, video textile installation, Uzina Energisa Institute, art gallery, João Pessoa, Paraiba, Northeast BRAZIL 2025.}

^{Exhibition view Os Encantados, .TIFF 2024 Emerging Belgian Photography, FOMU Antwerp (BE) 2024}

^{Exhibition view Os Encantados, .TIFF 2024 Emerging Belgian Photography, FOMU Antwerp (BE) 2024}

^{Exhibition view Os Encantados video installation, .TIFF 2024 Emerging Belgian Photography, FOMU Antwerp (BE) 2024}

^{Exhibition view Os Encantados, .TIFF 2024 Emerging Belgian Photography, FOMU Antwerp (BE) 2024}

^{Exhibition view Os Encantados, video installation, .TIFF 2024 Emerging Belgian Photography, FOMU Antwerp (BE) 2024}
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