Featuring the works of over one hundred Brazilian artists, Axé Bahia: The Power of Art in an Afro-Brazilian Metropolis offered insight and prospective into the Afro-Brazilian experience in the city of Salvador and into the distinct culture of Bahia, Brazil. Presented by the Fowler Museum at UCLA and curated by Patrick Polk, Roberto Conduru, Sabrina Gledhill, and Randal Johnson, the exhibit ran from September 24, 2017–April 15, 2018. This review will focus on three works featured in the exhibit: Códice (2011–2014) by José Antônio Cunha, A Força Que Habita em Mim (2016) by Eder Muniz, and the Jexus series (2014–2015) by Álex Ìgbó.
José Antônio Cunha's Códice is a collection of twenty-one canvas tiles, each subdivided into twenty-five squares (Fig. 1), painted with the intention of reflecting the beliefs and associated iconography central to Afro-Brazilian religions like Candomblé and Umbanda. The artist, José Antônio Cunha, has created each...