Tassila Custodes

Tassila Custodes, also known as Emi Ajé Dudu—a Yoruba name meaning "the breath of the Black spirit"—develops her work at the crossroads of aesthetic expression, ancestry, and territory. Drawing on African-rooted traditions and her connection to Terecô—an Afro-Brazilian religion from Maranhão—her work engages with archetypes and spiritual processes present in the terreiros. In the pursuit of expanded consciousness, the artist processes historical traumas and invokes spiritual healing through an Afrocentric and authorial perspective, producing images of intense symbolic charge that transpose everyday experiences, cultural belonging, and mystical encounters.

She participated in the two-person exhibition "A onda é o caminho do vento," with Silvana Mendes (Centro Cultural Vale Maranhão, São Luís, 2026). She has also participated in group exhibitions and other projects, including "Ancestral: Afro-Américas—Estados Unidos e Brasil" (MAB FAAP, São Paulo, 2024–2025); "Identidades" (Centro Cultural do Ministério Público do Maranhão, São Luís); and "Bestiários" (São Luís). She was nominated for the PIPA Prize in 2026 and won first place at the 14th Salão de Artes Visuais—Coletiva de Maio in 2025.