Pixacao originated in Brazil as a form of popular expression at the beginning of the 20th century, but grew into a youth movement from the urban periphery in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1970s. In the early 1980s, it spread to São Paulo, where it took its distinctive shape: monochrome, straight and angular letters. This style became a distinguishing feature in the world of street art — less as an act of vandalism than as a powerful, physical way in which marginalized youth claimed their presence. Using daring techniques such as climbing and abseiling, the pixadores of urban architecture is a battlefield for symbolic resistance.

The exhibition Pixação: Resistance and Rebellion uses three artists to show how this movement developed in three phases—origin, confrontation and innovation.‍

LIXOMANIA! zé's global tags embody the early period (1984—2006), where the movement was rooted in Brazilian urban culture and far beyond. Cripta Djan's biennial actions mark the culmination of the confrontation (2008—2012), where rebellion is intertwined with artistic expression. Energy represents the new generation (2015—present), redefining pixação as a socio-political commentary and form of empowerment.

Together with archival material, this exhibition reveals the role of pixação: as a form of protest and as a contemporary expression of art. The underlying social structures—such as gripes (groups of pixadores), points (meeting places) and folhinhas (sheets of paper where pixadores collect and exchange their signatures) —show the strong community and culture behind pixação.

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