Luiza Jesus do Prado
trandisciplinary artist
Luiza Jesus do Prado, also known as Luiza Prado, de Jesus, J/esú/s, HIFA, or Hifa Cybe, is a transdisciplinary artist, researcher, scientist, and technologist. Born in 1988
in the rural periphery of Guaratinguetá, São Paulo, Brazil, she has been working at the intersection of arts, science and technology.
Her research is centered on memory and, consequently, on mental health and its multifactorial dimensions—ranging from trauma, death, and environmental collapse
to gender, sexuality, and the anthropological roots of pain and violence. Her work also addresses how vulgarized concepts of madness have endured across human
history and proposes a decolonization of mental health, integrating emotional, spiritual, and sociopolitical layers.
Since 2010, she has developed trauma reprocessing methodologies through photography. Over time, her research has expanded into using physico-chemical structures
in dialogue with art to explore mental health treatments and possibilities for democratization in public health. Notable projects include Camera Obscura – Decompilation
of Memories of Trauma and Violence and Visual Therapy with Psilocybin.
She also conducts embodied research in Butoh dance, through which she evokes affective memories of the Brazilian countryside, engaging ecological, Indigenous, and African-based expressions of the caipira. Her investigation into appropriation addresses symbolic traces of gender-based and sexual violence.
Her main artistic platforms include photography (especially alternative and expanded processes), sound, and body arts. In performance, her work blends Butoh, physical theater, contemporary dance, aerial chain, pole dance, and Shibari—resulting in ritualistic, visceral, and animalistic compositions. She also employs mediums such as object art, video art, writing, painting, drawing, food, gas and olfactory elements, sculpture, and immersive technologies like VR and AR.
Her works have been featured in international exhibitions and biennials, including PST: LA/LA (USA), Carrousel du Louvre (France), ABC Contemporary (Germany), the Morocco Biennial, and the Shanghai Biennial of Photography and Video (China). Her pieces are included in public collections such as MAC Bogotá (Colombia), EAF (Germany), and the Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art of Cusco (Peru).
Contact
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São Paulo, Brasil
+55 11 91400-0809
luizajesusdoprado@gmail.com
contact@luizajesusdoprado.com -
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Curriculum
Basic Information
Pronoums: she her / they them
Genderqueer
Diagnosed with autism and high abilities
Her name is Luiza Jesus do Prado and she began her artistic career in 2008 using the name Luiza Prado. She adopted the pseudonym Hifa Cybe (Luiza Prado) to differentiate herself from 3 homonyms.
Artistic Resume
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Scientific Resume
Luiza Jesus do Prado is a multidisciplinary researcher with a focus on Biophysics, Semiotics, Neuroscience, and Psychobiology. With academic training in Multimedia, Photography, and Biomedical Sciences, she develops research at the intersection of Mental Health, Public Health, and the Arts. Prado is currently a postgraduate student in Psychopathology and Public Health at Santa Casa and holds certifications from institutions such as Harvard, Johns Hopkins, HCFMUSP, and Bayreuth in areas including Neurogenetics, Neuroimaging (fMRI), Genome Data Analysis, and Biofabrication.
Her interests span Genetics, Molecular Biology, Pharmacology, Health Tech, Immunology, Toxicology, and Integrative and Complementary Health Practices. She explores experimental and transdisciplinary methodologies that merge Science and Art to create accessible, non-bureaucratic approaches for mental health treatment and harm reduction. Prado also engages in parallel studies in fields such as Mycology, Nuclear Physics, Anthropology, Acoustics, Wave Physics, and Philosophy.
Personal Statment
I define my work as transdisciplinary through integration and seeking solutions through the intersection between art and science. Despite an indefinite horizon, they integrate, organize and merge, maintaining the body as the character that moves between macro and micro, public and private.
The body becomes essential in an aesthetic full of ancestral rituals and signs, keeping it close to the material it recorded, or even material that stimulates denial and repulsion. Consider this composition of a mechanism for the development of an aesthetic considered alternative, visceral, marginalized, expanded and, often, organic, processing platforms in traditional and technical times; fluids, blood, debris, oxidation, putrefaction and recycling.
The feminine, decolonization, peripheral issues, deconstruction of privileges, sexuality,
syncretism, indigenous ancestry, gender, politics, memories and psychosis - these issues,
among others, are common in my work , triggered by my biography. Research that started
with self-knowledge and expanded the need to be useful. An issue in which to make my body available in a political state. Like madness, an art was not a choice, it was a necessity. Choose
a type of resistance and liberation, a method of reprocessing and various perspectives without
limits of development, questioning and especially inclusiv
Poetic
He begins his scientific research talking about the consolidation or recovery of memory through photographic reprocessing, the decompilation of the image and the sound generated by it.
Her artistic work merges with her scientific research, becoming a laboratory in which art makes it possible to materialize and illustrate scientific concepts, also suggesting a democratization of resources used in psychological treatments and the discussion around this subject and science. Her research is about neurophysiological responses to sensory stimuli, mainly sound and image, emphasizing their construction and physicochemical reaction in the human brain.
These studies range from photographic reprocessing, communication decoding and image
decompilation, visual effects induced by chemicals such as psilocybin and reproduced in art,
to performance used as the main focus of trauma desensitization. The development of her
research is transdisciplinary, and proposes a complement to her academic research of the same nature. This environment serves as a laboratory for concepts studied in the area of Semiotics, Neuroscience and Psychobiology, having as sub-areas Biochemistry, Physics, Genetics, Pharmacology and Data Science.
Academic Formation
UNIP - Universidade Paulista, Bachelor of Science - BS in Biomedical Sciences
Anhanguera University, Photography Technologist
Courses, Certifications & Updates
Harvard University - Data Analysis for Genome
EEP FMUSP - School of Permanent Education, Service of Neurology and Neurogenetics of the Central Institute - HCFMUSP (Hospital das Clínicas) - Genetics Applied to Neurology
Bayreuth University - Biomaterials and Biofabrication: Design, Engineering and Innovation
Johns Hopkins University - Neuroscience and Neuroimaging - fMRI, Neurohacking In R and other topics
Bienialls
Something Else – Off Biennale Cairo - 2018 - Cairo, Egypt - Selected Artwork “I'm Sorry”
2st Changjiang International Photo & Video Biennale Changjiang Museum of Contemporary Art - 2017 - Changay, China - Curator: Robert Adanto. Selected Work: “Reincarnate Project”
3st Biennale Internacionale Casablanca - 2016 - Casablanca, Morocco - Curatorship: Marisa Caichiolo. Selected Work: “We The People”
Artistic Residencies
Colonized Sexuality - MAC Bogotá, Museum of Contemporary Art of Bogotá - 2014 - Bogota, Colombia
Public Collections
Gula (photography and digital manipulation) - MAC Bogotá - Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Bogotá
Uterus (drawing) - Municipal Museum of Cusco, Peru
Dance (photography and digital manipulation) - EAF, Enter Art Foundation, Berlin, Germany
Solo Exhibitions
Räumung - The Escape of the Involuntary Tenant at Aviatrix Berlin - 2020 - Berlin, Germany
Tríplice - International Festival of Photography – Paraty em Foco - 2013 - Paraty, Rio de Janeiro
Estruturas - Mundo Pensante Cultural Centre - 2013 - São Paulo, Brasil
Performance, Live Actions - Selected
Shibari Experience - Ópera do Arame - Curitiba - 2025 - Shibari Performance with Hajime Kinoko
Permeable Presence - Teatro Municipal de São Paulo - Paço das Artes - 2017 - Sao Paulo, Brazil. Featured Performance: “No Faces and No Hair”
Exhibition Performatus #1 - Central Galeria - 2014 - Sao Paulo, Brazil. Curatorship: Tales Frey & Hilda de Paulo. Featured Performance: “N’altura dos Olhos” with Natália Coutinho
Perturbe – Performance and Noise Festival - DamaDame - 2013 - Curitiba, Brazil. Featured Performance: “The Bird Agonizes”
SYNNFEST – Alternative Arts Festival - Trackers - 2013 - Sao Paulo, Brazil. Featured Performance: “The Oedipus Drift”
Sponsor, Awards
Collective Exhibitions (Selected)
Década dos Oceanos - Primeira Mostra de CriptoArt Brasileira - CCBB SP - 2024 - São Paulo, Brasil. Selected Work: “Mergulho” feat Maurizio Mancioli - (Video performance) - Curator: Marcio Harum
Década dos Oceanos - Primeira Mostra de CriptoArt Brasileira - CCBB RJ - 2024 - São Paulo, Brasil. Selected Work: “Mergulho” feat Maurizio Mancioli - (Video performance) - Curator: Marcio Harum
3:1 2020 Confinament Projects - Covid 19 Artist Stories #Confinamiento - Building
Bridges Art Exchange at Bergamot Station Arts Center - 2020 - Los Angeles, USA. Selected Work: “And then?” (Video performance)
Photo Pró Rio - FotoRio, Aymoré Gallery, Ateliê Oriente and Cultural Space Portrait - 2020 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Curatorship: Bianca Bernardo. Selected Work: “Procedure” (Photography)
#Confinamiento 1 – La Neomudejar Museum - 2020 - Spain. Curator: Pancho Lopez. Selected Work: “And Then?” (Video performance)
Disobedient, Redefining Feminism in a Fractured Reality - ArtServe Gallery - 2020 - Florida. Curator: Sophie Bonet, Carol Anne, MC Farlane and Robert Adanto
Yes And No More - IESA arts&culture - 2018 - Paris, France. Curators: Matilde Cesareo, Olga Fro-mentin, Friederike Hoberg, Aldonso Palacio, Jiayi Chen, Yue Wang. Selected Work: “Pudor” (Video-performance)
Dynamism - Museum of Contemporary Art of Bogotá - 2018 - Bogotá, Colombia. Curator: Juan David Quintero Arbelaz
Pacific Standard Time LA/LA Deconstructing Liberty - Muzeo - 2017 - Anaheim, USA. Curator: Marisa Caichiolo
Political Bodies by Google Arts & Culture - 2017 - Online. Curadoria: MAC Bogotá
50 Contemporary Artists (during the ABC Contemporary) - Enter Art Foundation - 2016 - Berlin, Germany. Curator: Susy Royal. Selected works: “Fundo do Mar” (Photography), Vanusa (Mix Media), Butterfly (Mix media) and Dance (Photography)
Dja Guata Porã Rio de Janeiro Indigenous at MAR – Museu de Arte do Rio - 2017 - Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Terra Tenebrosa - Sin Espacio Galería - 2016 - Cali, Colombia. Curatorship: Juan David Quintero Arbelaz
Salon International d’Art Contemporain do Carrousel du Louvre - Museo do Louvre - 2016 - Paris, França
Medusas, Woman-Myth/Woman-Shadow at Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Bogota - 2016 - Bogota, Colombia. Curator: Luz Adriana Hoyos. Selected work: “Gula” (Photography)
Ofrendas a la Pachamama - Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Cusco - 2016 - Cusco, Peru. Curatorship: Jose Luis Morales Sierra and Ana Maria Reque
Trabalha-Dores do Cu - Maus Habitos Cultural Center - 2015 - Porto, Portugal. Curatorship: Hilda de Paulo and Tales Frey. Selected work: Gula
Abrahadraba at MAC - Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Bogota - 2015 - Bogota, Colombia. Curatorship: Juan Davi Quinteiro Arbelaz and Santiago Rodrigues
Transfiguracion - Espacio Casa Hoffman - 2015 - Bogota, Colombia. Curatorship: Juan David Quintero Arbelaz
Simposium Curadoria América Latina, Vitrine de Projetos - Galeria Marta Traba,
Memorial da América Latina - 2014 - São Paulo, Brazil. Curatorship: Juan David Quintero Arbelaz, Santiago Rodrigues and Angela Barbour
AMORTEAMO - Galeria Marta Traba, Memorial da América Latina - 2014 - São Paulo, Brazil. Curatorship: Juan David Quintero Arbelaz, Santiago Rodrigues and Angela Barbour
Infinitum Cuerpo de Corrosiones y Placeres - Espacio Alterno Galería - 2013 - Bogota. Colombia. Curators: Juan David Quintero Arbelaz and Caridad Botello
Fairs & Festivals (Selected)
SSA Mapping - 2024 - Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
International Video Art Festival of Camagüey - 2021 - Cuba
Feminismen Festival 3.0 - 2021 - Halle, Alemanha
Itinerant Festival of Feminist Video Art - 2021, La Fabrica de Hielo (Valencia), Hangar (Barcelona), Ocho y Medio (Quito) o la asociación Women Being (Escocia-Portugal)
Room Art Fair – Azucar Stand - 2016 - Madrid, Espanha
SCOPE CONTEMPORARY ART SHOW w/ PSH Projects Stand - 2014 - Miami, EUA
Feira Parte – Porão e O Grito Gallery Gallery – Paço das Artes USP - 2014 - São Paulo, Brasil
FilaAc – Brazil-Colombia Stand – Memorial da América Latina - 2014 - São Paulo, Brasil
Festival de Fotografia do Sertão – w/ FOTOESCAMBO - 2014 - Bahia, Brasil
International Photography Festival – Paraty in Foco - 2013 - Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
SP ESTAMPA – Intervenção Urbana “Manifesto” c/ Andrea Barbour – Circulando SP Paisagens Temporárias - 2014 - São Paulo, Brasil
Speaker, Lectures and Workshops
Speaker - Blockhain Festival
Lecture - The State of the Body and the Body of the State w/ Isabela Lauermann - Necrocitizenship and the Law of the Corpse - Aquilombando Law & Art - UFRJ - 2022. The CERCO Research Group - State Control, Racism and Coloniality and the Legal Writings Extension Project, in partnership with the LABÁ Research Group - Law, Space & Politics (UFRJ), 2021, Online
Lecture - Self Processes and Artistic Projects - IBRACO - 2014, Bogotá Colombia
Workshop - Colonized Sexuality - MAC Bogotá - 2014, Bogotá Colombia