Encruzilhadas de um museu íntimo: afrografias da memória e fabulações críticas em fotos de família no Acervo da Laje, Subúrbio Ferroviário de Salvador

Abstract

This study investigates the intersections between memory, photography, and museology, focusing on interactions with photopaintings and photographs in the Acervo da Laje, a neighborhood in the Subúrbio Ferroviário of Salvador, Brazil. Drawing on concepts such as afrografias and critical fabulation, it examines how family photographs and artistic practices engage with the preservation of peripheral memories and identities. Leda Martins’ concept of afrografias reveals photographic images that reflect Black identity and the processes of appropriation and reinterpretation of memory within the African diaspora, while critical fabulation, inspired by Saidiya Hartman, offers a reading of how invisible histories can be reimagined, challenging dominant narratives and highlighting silenced stories. The research adopts a qualitative methodology, including literature review, a case study with autobiographical approach and testimonials, as well as an analysis of the photopainting collection from the Acervo da Laje. Initially, the study explores the transformations of the photopaintings as revealed by Mestre Júlio Santos, and how these images integrate individual and collective memories. Next, it discusses the body as a crossroads of memories and the power of photopaintings as afrografias, analyzing narrative practices that build Black identities based on experiences in the Subúrbio Ferroviário and the Acervo da Laje. Finally, it presents the role of affective curatorships in valuing invisible histories, exemplified by the exhibition “Memórias para Dona Antônia,” where artistic reinterpretations of family photos re-signify affective and community ties. This research highlights the importance of Afrocentric museological practices that recognize peripheries as legitimate spaces of cultural production and memory, promoting the protagonism of historically marginalized people.