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https://doi.org/10.37050/ci-35_06
Copy to Clipboard. Add italics as necessaryCite as: Carla Guagliardi, ‘It’s Stella and a Constellation We Should Be Talking About’, in Stella do Patrocínio, Falatório/Chatter, ed. by Iracema Dulley and Marlon Miguel, Cultural Inquiry, 35 (Berlin: ICI Berlin Press, 2025), pp. 255–62 <https://doi.org/10.37050/ci-35_06>
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Cover design: Studio Bens. Cover image of Stella do Patrocínio.

It’s Stella and a Constellation We Should Be Talking AboutCarla Guagliardi

Abstract

In 1986, we began a transformative two-and-a-half-year workshop at the Colônia Juliano Moreira women’s pavilion. Amidst institutional decay and raw humanity, we encountered Stella — her hypnotic voice embodying collective pain and inexplicable beauty that redefined artistic expression and human connection.

Keywords: psychiatric asylum artistic workshop; human encounter; collective pain; transformative experience; institutional space; Do Patrocínio, Stella

One morning in 1986, we were invited to develop a Workshop of Free Artistic Expression (Oficina de Livre Expressão Artística) at Colônia Juliano Moreira, in a women’s pavilion called Núcleo Teixeira Brandão. Feeling challenged, we set off on what would be one of the greatest inner journeys I have ever experienced.

That trek repeated itself every week for two and a half years, taking me to a place outside the world I inhabited. A place surrounded by voices and gazes, bodies and gestures, desires and fears.

The gate opens. The car door slams shut.

The smell coming from the refectory is mingled with that of faeces. The power of seduction comes from the unknown. So does the fear.

Each step further into that world raised a question that would remain unanswered. Each step deeper into that universe introduced us to a question without an answer.Beginning of page[p. 256] Every answer given bit the snake’s tail, and the perplexity grew a certain je ne sais quoi that made me dream of the impossible.

In dreams, I sometimes brought the people I met there into my home, though even in dreams I didn’t quite know what to do with them.

Perplexity, fascination.

It was in this viscous broth that we encountered Stella. There was no chance of escaping that gaze, that voice, that mantric speech, repeated where it was necessary to repeat a meaning, or wait for meaning.

There, everything was magnified by some majestic gesture, by the awesome presence of pain.

If I try to define the magnetic force that held me there, that might be it: the recognition of pain. The pain that issued from Stella’s words, from her voice, was not only hers; it was ours.

It was the magma of existence that convulsively gushed there with an inexplicable beauty.

It was so beautiful that it sometimes made us laugh, for nothing. It felt like reaching the summit of a very high mountain.

I suppose I’m expected to tell you how it all happened… and I can’t find the words to match that mountain.

Rio de Janeiro, 4 November 2017
Translated by Rafael Cardoso
FIG. 1. All of the photographs in Figures 1 to 6 derive from a series of collaborative art exercises held at Colônia Juliano Moreira from 1986 to 1988 titled ‘Workshop of Free Artistic Expression’. Clockwise from top-left: collective mural painted on what was called ‘the hangar’. A group of four people features in the centre of the frame, including (from left to right): artist Nelly Gutmacher; Carolina Vieira Machado, who sits in a chair; Márcio Rolo, a student at Parque Lage Visual Arts School; and a patient named Cremilda, who stands with her arms crossed. The other participants in the frame could not be identified. Top-right: detail of another collective mural. Patient Nancy is depicted in the foreground with her back to camera as well as Nelly Gutmacher, a patient named Teresa working on the wall and wearing a green skirt, and visual artist Brigitte Exter-Holck, who is dressed in black. Bottom-right: close-up of Cremilda painting the mural. Bottom-left: patients construct an installation using tree branches. From left to right: patients Luzia and Vilma, an unidentified patient, Nelly Gutmacher, and patient Sebastiana. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).FIG. 1. All of the photographs in Figures 1 to 6 derive from a series of collaborative art exercises held at Colônia Juliano Moreira from 1986 to 1988 titled ‘Workshop of Free Artistic Expression’. Clockwise from top-left: collective mural painted on what was called ‘the hangar’. A group of four people features in the centre of the frame, including (from left to right): artist Nelly Gutmacher; Carolina Vieira Machado, who sits in a chair; Márcio Rolo, a student at Parque Lage Visual Arts School; and a patient named Cremilda, who stands with her arms crossed. The other participants in the frame could not be identified. Top-right: detail of another collective mural. Patient Nancy is depicted in the foreground with her back to camera as well as Nelly Gutmacher, a patient named Teresa working on the wall and wearing a green skirt, and visual artist Brigitte Exter-Holck, who is dressed in black. Bottom-right: close-up of Cremilda painting the mural. Bottom-left: patients construct an installation using tree branches. From left to right: patients Luzia and Vilma, an unidentified patient, Nelly Gutmacher, and patient Sebastiana. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).FIG. 1. All of the photographs in Figures 1 to 6 derive from a series of collaborative art exercises held at Colônia Juliano Moreira from 1986 to 1988 titled ‘Workshop of Free Artistic Expression’. Clockwise from top-left: collective mural painted on what was called ‘the hangar’. A group of four people features in the centre of the frame, including (from left to right): artist Nelly Gutmacher; Carolina Vieira Machado, who sits in a chair; Márcio Rolo, a student at Parque Lage Visual Arts School; and a patient named Cremilda, who stands with her arms crossed. The other participants in the frame could not be identified. Top-right: detail of another collective mural. Patient Nancy is depicted in the foreground with her back to camera as well as Nelly Gutmacher, a patient named Teresa working on the wall and wearing a green skirt, and visual artist Brigitte Exter-Holck, who is dressed in black. Bottom-right: close-up of Cremilda painting the mural. Bottom-left: patients construct an installation using tree branches. From left to right: patients Luzia and Vilma, an unidentified patient, Nelly Gutmacher, and patient Sebastiana. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).FIG. 1. All of the photographs in Figures 1 to 6 derive from a series of collaborative art exercises held at Colônia Juliano Moreira from 1986 to 1988 titled ‘Workshop of Free Artistic Expression’. Clockwise from top-left: collective mural painted on what was called ‘the hangar’. A group of four people features in the centre of the frame, including (from left to right): artist Nelly Gutmacher; Carolina Vieira Machado, who sits in a chair; Márcio Rolo, a student at Parque Lage Visual Arts School; and a patient named Cremilda, who stands with her arms crossed. The other participants in the frame could not be identified. Top-right: detail of another collective mural. Patient Nancy is depicted in the foreground with her back to camera as well as Nelly Gutmacher, a patient named Teresa working on the wall and wearing a green skirt, and visual artist Brigitte Exter-Holck, who is dressed in black. Bottom-right: close-up of Cremilda painting the mural. Bottom-left: patients construct an installation using tree branches. From left to right: patients Luzia and Vilma, an unidentified patient, Nelly Gutmacher, and patient Sebastiana. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).
Fig. 1. All of the photographs in Figures 1 to 6 derive from a series of collaborative art exercises held at Colônia Juliano Moreira from 1986 to 1988 titled ‘Workshop of Free Artistic Expression’. Clockwise from top-left: collective mural painted on what was called ‘the hangar’. A group of four people features in the centre of the frame, including (from left to right): artist Nelly Gutmacher; Carolina Vieira Machado, who sits in a chair; Márcio Rolo, a student at Parque Lage Visual Arts School; and a patient named Cremilda, who stands with her arms crossed. The other participants in the frame could not be identified. Top-right: detail of another collective mural. Patient Nancy is depicted in the foreground with her back to camera as well as Nelly Gutmacher, a patient named Teresa working on the wall and wearing a green skirt, and visual artist Brigitte Exter-Holck, who is dressed in black. Bottom-right: close-up of Cremilda painting the mural. Bottom-left: patients construct an installation using tree branches. From left to right: patients Luzia and Vilma, an unidentified patient, Nelly Gutmacher, and patient Sebastiana. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).
FIG. 2. Top-left: patients prepare oil-based paints, including a patient named Totó, who is wearing a yellow T-shirt on the right-hand side. Top-right: patients work on a collective installation, including Dona Inês in the centre background, who wears a white dress and paints tree branches, and Edith, who wears yellow boots. Bottom-right: paint mixed by two unidentified patients. Bottom-left: close-up of patient Carolina Vieira Machado applying pigment to a mural. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).FIG. 2. Top-left: patients prepare oil-based paints, including a patient named Totó, who is wearing a yellow T-shirt on the right-hand side. Top-right: patients work on a collective installation, including Dona Inês in the centre background, who wears a white dress and paints tree branches, and Edith, who wears yellow boots. Bottom-right: paint mixed by two unidentified patients. Bottom-left: close-up of patient Carolina Vieira Machado applying pigment to a mural. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).FIG. 2. Top-left: patients prepare oil-based paints, including a patient named Totó, who is wearing a yellow T-shirt on the right-hand side. Top-right: patients work on a collective installation, including Dona Inês in the centre background, who wears a white dress and paints tree branches, and Edith, who wears yellow boots. Bottom-right: paint mixed by two unidentified patients. Bottom-left: close-up of patient Carolina Vieira Machado applying pigment to a mural. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).FIG. 2. Top-left: patients prepare oil-based paints, including a patient named Totó, who is wearing a yellow T-shirt on the right-hand side. Top-right: patients work on a collective installation, including Dona Inês in the centre background, who wears a white dress and paints tree branches, and Edith, who wears yellow boots. Bottom-right: paint mixed by two unidentified patients. Bottom-left: close-up of patient Carolina Vieira Machado applying pigment to a mural. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).
Fig. 2. Top-left: patients prepare oil-based paints, including a patient named Totó, who is wearing a yellow T-shirt on the right-hand side. Top-right: patients work on a collective installation, including Dona Inês in the centre background, who wears a white dress and paints tree branches, and Edith, who wears yellow boots. Bottom-right: paint mixed by two unidentified patients. Bottom-left: close-up of patient Carolina Vieira Machado applying pigment to a mural. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).
FIG. 3. Top-left: mural painting by a patient named Marlene. The subsequent images, clockwise from top-right to bottom-left, document the metamorphosis of the hangar’s interior space, which was collectively transformed by patients into an expressive environment. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).FIG. 3. Top-left: mural painting by a patient named Marlene. The subsequent images, clockwise from top-right to bottom-left, document the metamorphosis of the hangar’s interior space, which was collectively transformed by patients into an expressive environment. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).FIG. 3. Top-left: mural painting by a patient named Marlene. The subsequent images, clockwise from top-right to bottom-left, document the metamorphosis of the hangar’s interior space, which was collectively transformed by patients into an expressive environment. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).FIG. 3. Top-left: mural painting by a patient named Marlene. The subsequent images, clockwise from top-right to bottom-left, document the metamorphosis of the hangar’s interior space, which was collectively transformed by patients into an expressive environment. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).
Fig. 3. Top-left: mural painting by a patient named Marlene. The subsequent images, clockwise from top-right to bottom-left, document the metamorphosis of the hangar’s interior space, which was collectively transformed by patients into an expressive environment. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).
FIG. 4. Patient Dona Maria chose not to participate in the ‘Workshop of Free Artistic Expression’ series. Here, she looks directly at the camera while standing next to a small brick oven that she built for her own personal cooking on the grounds of Colônia Juliano Moreira. She welcomed occasional visits, and as such, patient Simone Faria Maciel is also featured here. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).
Fig. 4. Patient Dona Maria chose not to participate in the ‘Workshop of Free Artistic Expression’ series. Here, she looks directly at the camera while standing next to a small brick oven that she built for her own personal cooking on the grounds of Colônia Juliano Moreira. She welcomed occasional visits, and as such, patient Simone Faria Maciel is also featured here. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).
FIG. 5. As other patients work on a mural, patient Januária Marta de Souza draws with a red crayon on a piece of cardboard. Souza drew repeatedly during the workshop series and rapidly developed a distinct visual language. Her recurring figures included horses, humans, and hybrid horse-human creatures, which initially mirrored Souza’s single arm, but later, she depicted them with two arms. She also designed the exhibition poster for ‘The Underground Air’ at Paço Imperial Museum, Rio de Janeiro (see Figure 17 in the Introduction, p. 28). Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).
Fig. 5. As other patients work on a mural, patient Januária Marta de Souza draws with a red crayon on a piece of cardboard. Souza drew repeatedly during the workshop series and rapidly developed a distinct visual language. Her recurring figures included horses, humans, and hybrid horse-human creatures, which initially mirrored Souza’s single arm, but later, she depicted them with two arms. She also designed the exhibition poster for ‘The Underground Air’ at Paço Imperial Museum, Rio de Janeiro (see Figure 17 in the Introduction, p. 28). Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).
FIG. 6. A very quiet and isolated patient never agreed to participate in the ‘Workshop of Free Artistic Expression’, despite being invited. Instead, she spent years carving a series of body-sized holes into a hillside of Colônia Juliano Moreira. Her only tool was a spoon, and she carefully smoothed the interior of each cavity by hand, sometimes moistening it with water. Inside these protective hollows she placed small empty medicine boxes, which were likely retrieved from the trash, and covered them with straw. This silent, ritualistic practice was developed in isolation and transformed the terrain into a landscape of intimate shelters. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).
Fig. 6. A very quiet and isolated patient never agreed to participate in the ‘Workshop of Free Artistic Expression’, despite being invited. Instead, she spent years carving a series of body-sized holes into a hillside of Colônia Juliano Moreira. Her only tool was a spoon, and she carefully smoothed the interior of each cavity by hand, sometimes moistening it with water. Inside these protective hollows she placed small empty medicine boxes, which were likely retrieved from the trash, and covered them with straw. This silent, ritualistic practice was developed in isolation and transformed the terrain into a landscape of intimate shelters. Photo credit: Carla Guagliardi’s personal archive (1986–1988).

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