Women & the sea
Safira
By Rose Mary Gerber – PhD in Social Anthropology
Exhibition with audio description
Safira
Safira, a fisherwoman known as Neneca, learned to fish at eight years old from her father and mother. "But I learned much more from my mother: mending nets, lacing them, making them, everything."
Introduction
"Women and the sea: Safira" is an exhibition stemming from my doctoral research in Social Anthropology at UFSC, completed in 2013, which later became the book "Women and the Sea." During my 11 months of fieldwork, I observed, lived with, and participated in the daily lives of these women, seeking to understand how they recognize themselves, are recognized by others, and pursue their rights as fisherwomen.
Safira is the fisherwoman with whom I spent the most time, and continue to. This is why I chose images that capture her engaging daily life. In Safira's words: "If I can summarize what life in fishing is like for you folks at the university to understand, I'd put it this way: six years, bachelor's degree; 10 years, master's; 15 years, doctorate. 20 years: everything is just beginning. That's how complex fishing is."
The fisherwomen I lived with work on small boats, going out to sea and returning to land for periods ranging from three to 16 hours, depending on the type of fishing. There are many possibilities for life connected to the sea, which, in addition to being a source of food and income, is also "therapy" and a source of learning.
As Safira wisely and profoundly summarizes for us: "To fish and to live, you need concentration, attention to what you're doing: at sea and in life. To get distracted, even for a moment, in fishing, is to risk losing your life. To get distracted in life is to miss living the moment. And that's all we have: the moment. Fishing teaches us this. But the biggest challenge isn't fishing. It's life" (Safira, fisherwoman, Barra do Sul).
Comrades: Safira and Nezinho
In the world of artisanal fishing, a "camarada" (comrade) is someone who works alongside you. Neneca and Nezinho are comrades in fishing and in life. They do everything together, always in dialogue, with visible admiration, love, and respect.
Uniform at Sea: Oiled Overalls
This is the attire worn for fishing. Made for men's bodies, women have to adapt, as there's no front opening if they need to relieve themselves. Because of this, without a doubt, I and the women who go out there: everyone has a man's body.
Ready to Go Out to Sea
In the image, Nezinho, Neneca, and I are ready for another day of fishing, each in their appropriate gear for going out to fish, whether it's a day of abundance or scarcity.
Path to the Sea
To go out to sea in Barra do Sul, we need to pass the "mouth of the bar," a place considered more dangerous because success depends heavily on the weather. Along the way, there are special images like this one I chose of a fishing hut and boats, taken on a beautiful, calm, sunny day.
Day to Haul the Nets
One of the fishing methods Neneca uses is "waiting." Nets are set one day and retrieved the next, as shown in the image I captured of Neneca starting to pull them in.
Today the Sea Provided!
In fishing life, you deal with rhythms and temporalities, not just good or bad weather for going out to sea, but also times of abundance or scarcity. Some days are celebrated, while on others, things quiet down. This was a happy day!
Another Day: Will It Pay Off?
The rhythm of fishing involves a daily process of repetition: going, coming back, cleaning fish and boats, going again, coming back, always with an anxious mind, wondering if it will be a good catch or not.
The Weather Turned Bad
This is a major risk in one of the world's most dangerous professions: leaving in good weather and, out of nowhere, it "turns." Returning home is an adventure that, for some, is not always successful. On this day, the weather turned, but we returned safely.
Mending the Nets
This essential fishing gear is one of the most damaged on days with rough weather. Back home, all that's left is to organize everything and start mending, mending, mending, because the next day, you'll be heading out again.
Mending Details
In the repetitive act of mending a net, hands are primarily used, but the body in general provides support, including the feet which serve as a prop for properly sewing the net fabric.
Everything Is Done in Pairs: Neneca and Nezinho
To speed up the four-handed work, while one mends one side, the other checks the other and cuts the knots that indicate where the repair needs to be made.
Will Today Be a Good Catch?
Some days, tiredness wakes up with the fisherwoman, and she says a prayer on the way to where she'll set the fishing nets, asking the Great Father for a good catch today to feed her family and sell to the customers waiting for her on land.
Credits
Exhibition: Women & the Sea - Safira
Rose Mary Gerber
PhD in Social Anthropology
Authorship and Curation
Ticiano Alves
Exhibitions Coordinator
EXEA Maritime Museum
Layout and Audio Description Coordination
Allison (persona)
VoiceGen Envato
Audio Descriptions (Voice)
Ocean's Embrace
MusicGen Envato
Ambient Music
Leandro Vilar
General Director
EXEA Maritime Museum
Camila Rios
Technical Director | Museologist
EXEA Maritime Museum
Raphaella Belmont Alves
Executive Director | Proofreader
EXEA Maritime Museum
Exhibition Review
© All Rights Reserved.
Legal Curation
Nets in the Sea: Now We Wait
Nets released in a location identified by the signal flag mean it's time to return to land and focus on countless chores until the new day arrives to pull in the nets and see the results.