Mano Penalva (Salvador, Brazil, 1987) lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil. His artistic practice explores the intersections of material culture, memory, and identity by transforming everyday objects into vehicles for reflecting on belonging, circulation, and symbolic value. Through the displacement of familiar materials from their original contexts, Penalva develops a body of work deeply informed by anthropology and the social dynamics embedded in daily life.

His practice frequently incorporates commonplace materials such as woven polypropylene sacks, seat belts, nylon straps, tarpaulins, reflective tapes, plastic straws, and a wide range of objects collected from streets, open-air markets, and local shops. Reconfigured into new compositions, these materials are stripped of their original utilitarian purpose and become visual narratives that engage with popular culture and the broader Latin American experience.

In the Origem (Origin) series, Penalva works with packaging gathered from places he has traveled through. Removed from their original function, these remnants retain traces of circulation, commerce, and exchange, becoming material records of social and economic relationships.

The Brasão (Coat of Arms) series reinterprets the European heraldic tradition by replacing conventional emblems with symbols rooted in Brazilian culture, including bananas, cashew fruits, and foliage. Through layers, transparencies, and everyday materials, the artist constructs contemporary heraldic compositions that question cultural identity and the symbols used to represent collective histories.

In Tramas (Weavings), Penalva draws inspiration from the visual structures of family coats of arms and tartans to create new aesthetic systems. Using nylon webbing, seat belts, and other industrial materials, he develops intricate compositions that expand the notion of belonging, proposing new connections between memory, territory, and cultural identity.