Brazil is responsible for managing the world's largest biodiversity heritage: there are more than 120,000 species Invertebrates and about 8,930 species of vertebrates (734 mammals, 1,982 birds, 732 reptiles, 973 amphibians, 3,150 continental fish and 1,358 marine fish), of which 1,173 are listed as threatened with extinction. To raise awareness and encourage reflection on the devastation and destruction of ecosystems, artist Joe Barros created Biomass project in Brazilwhich can be seen on display at the Science and Technology Park of the University of the South Pacific, Parque Cintec, located in the Agua Funda neighborhood, in São Paulo.
The exhibition includes six mosaics painted on glass, each representing a Brazilian biome: the Amazon, Caatinga, Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, Pantanal, Pampa, and one of the biome's native species, which is listed as endangered. According to journalist and art critic Oscar d'Ambrosio, PhD in Education, Arts and Cultural History and MA in Visual Arts, who curates the exhibition, “The collection encourages us to stop the destruction of natural biodiversity and raises awareness of the need to heal and restore destroyed ecosystems. For him, By representing distinct or endemic animal and plant species, Joe Barros' visual compositions appreciate nature's colours, shapes and flexibility.
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