Fordlândia e as ruínas de um projeto extrativista

Abstract

The research draws on Fordlândia's historical past to problematize, from an artistic and theoretical perspective, the imagery of ruins as the dark side of modernity and, simultaneously, to think about the actuality of the ruins of which we are both heirs and contemporaries. The unprecedented nature of our current project consists of taking a critical stance on the discourse, whether scientific, academic or common sense, which names Fordlândia as a forgotten city. We need to dismantle the historical trap of Fordlândia as a ruined city. The "forgotten city" decree begs the question: forgotten by whom? And, moreover, remembered by whom? How? When? Fordlândia is presented through the prism of failure for those who expropriated the land. For some, the project's unfortunate downfall, for others, the resistance of an ungovernable land. In short, against the backdrop of a certain Official History, this doctoral research looks at the ruins of Fordlândia as a political dimension of the present.