The sculpture Isto é um homem (1999) and the watercolor painting O herói (Tudo menos o santo) (2013), both by Sidney Amaral, are on view in the exhibition Padê: Sentinela à porta da memória at the Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araujo.

Guided by the figure of Exu, the orixá of paths and mediation between worlds, the exhibition presents a selection from the museum’s collection structured around three conceptual axes: Africa, Crossing, and Diaspora. Curated by Rosa Couto, the show celebrates Exu as an inescapable presence within African and Afro‑Brazilian cosmologies and cultures.

“Exu is the principle of movement. It is the force that breaks inertia and sets the world in motion. To dedicate an exhibition to him is also to reflect on memory, transformation, and the energies that run through Afro‑diasporic cultures. By bringing together historical and contemporary works, the show proposes an encounter between ancestry, art, and imagination,” says Rosa Couto.