João Maria Gusmao. Following the White Tiger

Zachęta — National Gallery of Art

curated by: Post Brothers

The image is not only a record of reality — it is also a material trace of light, a medium of memory and a space for imagination. In his films, João Maria Gusmão uses the analog medium to explore the relationship between the materiality of an image and history, ideology and the ways in which we perceive reality.

Following the White Tiger is a solo exhibition by Portuguese artist João Maria Gusmão, featuring a multi-channel presentation of looped 16mm film projections. The presented works are the latest stage of the artist's experiments with the analog medium and speculative concepts of the image. In his works, Gusmão explores the relationship between history, ideology and aesthetics and their material dimension.

In an era dominated by digital images, Gusmão draws attention to the special nature of analog film — its physicality, the technical process of creation, and the imprint that light leaves on film. Of particular importance here is the tension between the material construction of the image — photosensitive tape, projection and registration process — and its symbolic dimension, in which images become carriers of cultural and ideological content. The artist's works show that the painting is at the same time a physical object and a carrier of memory and imagination.

The title of the exhibition refers to João Maria Gusmão's latest work The School of the White Tiger (2024) — a sequence of vertical still shots depicting a kung fu school in France. In it, the artist shows graffiti painting on the facade of the building as a form of abstract painting inspired by movement, gesture and images related to the world of animals.

Gusmão links this seemingly accidental discovery to the metaphor of the “paper tiger,” a term popularized by Chinese leader Mao Zedong in reference to American imperialism and the nuclear threat of the Cold War. This motif becomes the starting point for reflection on the tension between the appearance of strength and the real fragility, between what is visible and what is hidden.

In his work, Gusmão treats film as a camera that creates the illusion of movement thanks to the succession of still images. At the same time, it explores the relationship between the real and the real, showing how cinematic images function at the intersection of the human, technological, animal and non-human.

The exhibition consists of twelve film works, many of which were created as part of residencies realized in Zachęta. Described by Gusmão as “film sculptures”, they build a space based on repetition, associations and contemplation, in which the movement, gesture and materiality of the film become ways of experiencing the image.

Starting from everyday observations, Gusmão begins to reflect on the violence present in Western imaginations—both symbolic and material. Drawing on themes related to kung fu, Zen culture, the reception of Mao Zedong's thoughts by French intellectuals, and looking at the ways in which the West constructs ideas about the East, the artist proposes a poetic “third way” that escapes simple divisions.

Technique — understood both as a practice and as a tool for creating images — becomes in his work a way of knowing the world and revealing the relationship between the material and what goes beyond direct experience.

After the presentation in Zachęta, the project In the Footsteps of the White Tiger will continue in Portugal. Its next stages will be a special presentation at Sismógrafo in Porto and the realization of a new work in collaboration with the students of the School of Arts at Universidade Católica Portuguesa. In March 2027, the project will culminate with an extensive exhibition at the Museu de Arte, Arquitetura e Tecnologia (MAAT) in Lisbon and a publication with texts by the artist and curator, dedicated to the relationship between image, thought and artistic practice.

The exhibition contains stroboscopic lighting effects. People with epilepsy or photosensitivity are asked to exercise extreme caution.

About the artist

João Maria Gusmão (born 1979) is an artist living and working in Lisbon. For more than two decades, he has developed a multi-threaded practice covering analog film, photography, sculpture, drawing, film installations, as well as literature, curatorial and publishing activities.

Central to his work is an interest in ancient image-making technologies and their reuse as a way of exploring alternative ways of perceiving time, space and reality. Gusmão calls this strategy “critical archaeology” — a return to historical imaging methods to look at how images are created, function, and shape our understanding of the world.

His films, photographs and objects combine references to literature, science and philosophy, creating poetic and speculative visions of reality. In the years 2001-2018, the artist co-created with Pedro Paiva a valued artistic duo, presenting works at the most important international exhibitions. The artists represented Portugal at the 53rd Venice Biennale and participated in the 55th edition of the event in 2013.

João Maria Gusmão's works are in the collections of institutions such as the Museum of Art in Łódź, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, MACBA, Centre Georges Pompidou, Tate Modern, SFMOMA, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Nouveau Musée National de Monaco and Museu de Serralves.

Since 2019, Gusmão has been developing his solo practice while acting as curator, songwriter, editor and publisher of the Pato em Pequim outpost.

About the curator

Post Brothers is a critical practice created by Matthew Posta — curator, author and educator involved in projects related to contemporary art, writing and alternative forms of storytelling.

From 2016 to 2019 he was a curator at the Kunstverein München in Munich, and from 2021 to 2023 he was an associate professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. He has curated exhibitions and projects in many international institutions and publishes texts in exhibition catalogues, art publications and magazines devoted to art and culture.

His recent curatorial projects include Breaking the Joints at Sapieha Palace in Vilnius (2025), Drain the Öresund in Malmö Konsthall (2025), In the beginning was the deed! at the Arsenał Gallery in Białystok (2021) and Mercury — a visual essay prepared jointly with the artist Simon Dybbroe Møller as part of the Tallinn Photomonth Biennial (2019).

Post Brothers also participates in artistic projects through texts and performative activities and gives lectures as part of artistic and educational programs in Europe. He lives in Kolonia Koplany near Białystok.

Institution financed by
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage

Encouragement is supported
Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts

Patron Zachęta
ORLEN

Honorary patronage
Embassy of Portugal in Warsaw
Camões Institute in Warsaw

media partners
Polish Radio
TVP Kultura
Letter
Our City

COLOPHON DESIGN

Camera and Location Assistant: Marco Bene
Production and coordination of studio work: Francisca Bagulho
Studio assistant: Simão Carneiro
16mm film equipment technical support: Pato em Pequim
Film copies and laboratory work: ANDEC Cinegrell Filmtechnik GmbH
Website Developer: Joel Domingues

The artist and curator would like to thank:
Sergio Mah; Bruno Marchand; João Pinharanda; Rita Marques; Nuno Carvalho; Pedro Huet; Nuno Crespo; Daniel Ribas; Salomé Lamas; Gabriel Abrantes; Ana Baliza; Mariusz Lisowski; Michał Woliński; Katarzyna Behler; Olga Zaremba; Marcin Mikołajczyk; Natxo Checa; ZDB, Lisbon; Cristina Guerra; Sies & Höke; ZERO Gallery... and Fortes d'Aloia e Gabriel.

Organized in cooperation with:
Portuguese Republic — Culture | DGARTES — Direção Geral das Artes
MAAT — Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology/EDP Foundation
Duck in Pequim, Lda
Seismograph
School of Arts, Catholic University of Porto
Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon

Partners:
Sistema ATM

With the support of:
Nomus — Museum of New Art
Club Room Younger Sister
Gravity Station
Sluzewiec Track
Warsaw Industrial Automatic
World Balloon Festival Varsavia
National Museum of Technology in Warsaw
Cinema Illusion