Interview with Sheyla Ayo
Marina Oliveira Barbosa: Sheyla, could you introduce yourself and tell us a little about yourself and your work?
Sheyla Ayo: My name is Sheyla Ayo; I live and work between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. I work and engage deeply with female ancestry, religious practices, and Afro-Brazilian cults. I address issues of movement between places that my ancestry has traversed in some way—not only in Brazil, but in other parts of the world, in other territories. I’m happy to give this interview and talk a little about this work, because I recently took a DNA test and discovered that, finally, part of my background, of my DNA, is that I am of Angolan and Nigerian descent, with some roots in Cuba. I think this serves to show that we—not only as Black people, but as people of diverse backgrounds—truly have our own paths within our ancestry.
Marina Oliveira Barbosa: How did you get started in art?
Sheyla Ayo: I started working around 2010; that was my first exhibition. I held an exhibition even while I was in college, with small drawings and collages, initially focusing on my region—which is now part of the ABC region in São Paulo—and at first, this work had no religious background; I hadn’t yet embraced it, I wasn’t part of a religion, and honestly, I much preferred working with painting and abstraction. And I think that as this work grew and I got closer to these ancestral issues—also because I was raised in Candomblé—it started to become something a bit bigger and really moved beyond that limited understanding I had of Afro-Brazilian religion. I began experimenting with painting, textiles, and different approaches in my work, because I was also observing the dynamics within the terreiro—the rituals, the dances of the orixás, the care that the filhos de santos showed one another—and I started developing some performances as well.
So this work, which begins with painting, moves into my body, and I start to engage in a dialogue with my body. I use materials that are present within my body and are found in Candomblé—straws, colorful fabrics, cotton; and you can see this in a series of mine called “Vazias,” for which I won an award from the CCSP—the São Paulo Cultural Center—a series of 18 large-format works, roughly 80 by 1.20 meters, on cotton fabric. I don’t worry about mounting them on stretchers; I simply apply an acrylic background and then paint onto these canvases certain movements that I feel and imagine taking place within Candomblé rituals. So this is my first series, which I consider an important one, and it has led to these other works up to the present day.
Marina Oliveira Barbosa: You’ve drawn inspiration from Candomblé and your ancestral heritage. I’d love to hear about Sheyla as a child—what were your artistic pursuits like?
Sheyla Ayo: I think my inspiration—or the foundation for these works—comes from certain experiences and memories I had as a child that were very important to me. My father always worked as a home security guard, building maintenance worker, and did some small jobs as an electrician. And when he came home from those jobs, he’d bring back scraps of materials that he’d put in a small box at the back of our yard. My siblings and I would take those materials and play with them. We’d twist the wires into shapes, make little figures, mix the leftover paint, and paint on paper or cardboard. Playing with those materials—I think that’s how my aesthetic sensibility was shaped, you know?
I remember oil paint—when water would fall into it and the paint would create a splash of color there, I’d see a rainbow. And I’d watch that in a very playful way, and from there I started creating; I think, in a way, some drawings and some works were made instinctively.
But, yeah… I think it all started as a child’s game, you know? In a way where we had few resources, but a lot of imagination. And that carried on, it carried me into adulthood. I think I mentioned to you earlier that my brothers also draw really well. We never attended any drawing school, any art school. I think it was really just practice and the way we had to pass the time, to play, you know? That’s one of my memories—one of my deepest memories. It’s something I still hold onto, which is why it shows up in certain moments of my work.
Marina Oliveira Barbosa: In one of your works, you photograph yourself holding religious symbols. Could you tell us a little about where the inspiration for this exhibition came from?
Sheyla Ayo: I work with the philosophy “my gods pray while dancing.” I performed this piece during the pandemic. As described in the captions of the images, it was a spiritual exercise that brought me peace. In it, I speak of the womb, of water, and of the reins of life. All of this is ancestral wisdom.
Marina Oliveira Barbosa: I’ve noticed that water is a recurring symbol in your work. Does this have a sensory, emotional aspect, or is it also strongly connected to spirituality? And speaking of spirituality, I’d like to know what elements you draw from Candomblé and/or Ifá?
Sheyla Ayo: I was initiated into Candomblé. I was born—or rather, reborn—on July 18, 2018. I am of Oxum. And, yes, I was very happy with Candomblé; I learned a lot. I did a lot of things, in many ways, I reinvented myself in many ways. But I understand that there comes a certain moment in our lives when these paths—which I also depict in my works—need to expand. They need to have another context in my life. So, I’m turning to Ifá to better understand myself. To better understand my ancestry, to learn about other things, other ways of interpreting the world. I haven’t been initiated into Ifá yet, but I’ve been studying it a lot. It’s been my research topic since last year. So, I’ve been meeting with the Babalaô, who looks after me now. Baba Dimi, who is Nigerian—we talk a lot. And it’s another aspect of religiosity. I would say, then, that it’s a more philosophical aspect, one that requires a lot of research. Ifá is very, very different from Candomblé, because it is a religion. Religion, philosophy, a strictly African way of life—more specifically, Nigerian. And this has also opened up other perspectives for me, other things that make me want to study more, to expand my understanding further. And this has also led me to other interpretations, other things that make me want to study more, to explore further. And this has helped me grow a lot.
Marina Oliveira Barbosa: And how do you go about incorporating these religious elements into your work? Do you need to apply for a permit? Or is that not necessary? How does it work?
Sheyla Ayo: And, obviously, if you need to ask for permission, how do you translate that religiosity into your art? I don’t think I need to ask for permission, no. Baba and I talk about this a lot, but once we move into the initiation phase—whether in Candomblé or elsewhere—I think the most important thing is that we see ourselves as human beings and speak what we truly know, what we can offer to help others. I don’t see that as disrespectful. I think you can really expand your relationships, your work, and help others grow. I don’t think there’s anything more to it than that. And I had mentioned water, but now I understand. Like a good daughter of Oxum.
Sheyla Ayo: Well, I was raised in Candomblé. My family was really funny. When I joined a circle in November to get started and Week 10’s assignment came up—with all those questions about idols—my family judged me in a way that was really… I didn’t talk to my mom or my dad for a little while, but then they came around. Today, my mom even asks me to pray for her, to do that. My dad too. But at first, it was a choice I made on my own. Well, not entirely on my own—me and my ancestors. I remember on the day of my initiation, I felt this—a room full of people who had been there long before me; it was incredible.
Marina Oliveira Barbosa: How do you view your work today?
Sheyla Ayo: I never imagined I’d be a visual artist, you know? I just drew and created art because I thought it was all so much fun. I thought it was just a hobby. Actually, I’ve always worked in retail; I was a cashier at McDonald’s. I’ve done cleaning work too, on a daily basis, and I worked with my mom. But to imagine that my work would grow and become what it is today—well, that was never something I expected. I went to college too, but initially the idea was to become an art teacher. I never imagined I’d become a visual artist in this context. But I’m really happy to see artists—especially Black artists—engaging in inclusive work, creating things that truly resonate with them. And bringing to the canvas, in their performance, in their tapestry, or in their approach, a bit of their family history, of who they are. Can you tell us a little about how you’ve been developing?
Marina Oliveira Barbosa: Sheyla, I don’t think this is an easy question, but how would you describe yourself—Sheila the artist—and is there a distinction between Sheila the person and Sheila the artist? How would you describe your art?
Sheyla Ayo: Oh, guys, okay, I’ll try. I see myself as a dreamer, someone who truly believes that things can get better. I don’t think there’s any distance or separation between Sheyla and Sheyla the artist. I think that if I didn’t make art, I wouldn’t exist—at least not fully—which is why my life in art and my life are one and the same. Anyway, I have a desire—more than just a dream—that people would be touched, not entirely, but partially, by the work I do, that they would be able to find themselves in these works, and ultimately become more sensitive, more loved, through what I do.
Marina Oliveira Barbosa: Last question, okay? (Laughs)
If you could name a sound that represents your art—a sound and a song—what would you say?
Sheyla Ayo: Sure (laughs).
Oh, guys, there’s a song by Tiganá Santana that I love—it’s on his second-to-last album. Have you heard it? It’s called *Caçada Noturna*. Have you listened to that album? The song’s title is “Muilo.” I think that’s the one! And the sound that would represent me would be a water spout, like, wow, I love it… It’s delightful for sleeping. That same sound appears in Tiganá’s song too, I think that’s why I like it so much, really.
Interview by Marina Oliveira Barbosa for the Digital Brazil Project.
