Many Hands Make Light Work is a symbolic collective action. Survivors of the military dictatorship and families affected by State violence passed 500 lbs of rock salt hand to hand to be deposited at the front gate of the DOPS building. During the military dictatorship (1964-1985) the now-abandoned DOPS building functioned as a police station where political prisoners were arrested, tortured, and often disappeared after their arrest. This action marked the 60th anniversary of the AI-5 decree and the darkest moment of Brazil’s authoritarian government. The participatory performance was organized in partnership with human rights activists from the Memory, Truth, Justice, Reparations and Democracy Collectives (Coletivos de Memória, Verdade, Justiça, Reparação e Democracia).

This topic surfaced as I confronted my own life story, being born in the USA to Brazilian parents in self-exile during the dictatorship, and the looming shadow of authoritarianism in North America.

Photos by Fabian Alvares

Salt is a polysemic material, carrying multiple meanings—seasoning, preservation, cursing, cleansing, and protection. The inspiration for this action stems from the historical Inconfidência Mineira, a revolt that led to the brutal execution of its leader, Tiradentes. After his hanging, his body was quartered and publicly displayed as a warning, his house demolished, and the land where it stood salted to ensure that nothing would grow there. Tiradentes was made into an example for daring to seek independence from Portuguese rule and envisioning a republic.

In this work, salt is reintroduced as a subversive symbol, reclaiming what was once used for erasure and punishment to instead assert remembrance and resistance. The action materializes a collective demand that the atrocities committed within the DOPS building - a former site of political imprisonment and torture - never be repeated.

Participants engaged with the action on their terms, honoring lost loved ones or confronting the incomprehensible violence they endured within those very walls. The performance became a space for collective catharsis—some spoke the names of the disappeared, others observed in silence, some rejoiced in defiance, while others loudly demanded that such horrors never happen again.

At its core, this action is about physical presence, turning the audience into active participants and performers. Through this shared experience, memory is embodied, and resistance is enacted—not as a passive reflection, but as an undeniable, collective force.

I seek to continue my collaboration with the Memory, Truth, Justice, Reparations, and Democracy Collectives by actively supporting their petition to transform this nefarious site into a Museum for Human Rights. Additionally, I aim to document their tireless efforts to recover, archive, and preserve scores of abandoned documents still housed within the DOPS building, ensuring that these records are not lost to history.

This work is especially urgent given the rise of revisionist conservative narratives that both deny and glorify the military dictatorship and its atrocities. In recent years, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and his administration openly praised the dictatorship’s violence and attempted to reinstate authoritarian rule, culminating in a failed coup on January 8, 2023.

State violence remains a brutal reality in Brazil, leaving survivors and families of the disappeared without closure, forced to carry the heavy burden of generational trauma. By engaging with these collectives, I hope to amplify their fight for truth and justice while using artistic practice as a tool to confront historical erasure and demand accountability.

The history of Brazil’s military dictatorship and its ongoing political struggles remain largely unknown, overlooked, or deliberately avoided in North America. At this pivotal moment, it is essential to shed light on the history of U.S. interventionism in Latin America, especially as the United States itself faces the rise of authoritarianism under the Trump/Musk administration. The echoes of past regimes serve as urgent warnings, emphasizing the need for historical accountability and vigilance against authoritarian threats—both abroad and at home.