“Da batalha do coqueiral ao point geral : uma etnografia visual da cena do pixo em João Pessoa - PB”

Abstract

This work is a visual ethnography which, guided by the discussions of Grimshaw and Ravetz (2015), employs the image as a medium between researcher, interlocutors, and reader in order to mobilize a debate on sociability and the practice of pixação in João Pessoa, Brazil. Following the exercise of “observing the familiar” (Velho, 1978), the research describes the gatherings of pixadores I attended between 2023 and 2024, as well as the practical actions undertaken during the nights following these encounters. I seek to demonstrate that the formation of networks of sociability through pixação stands in contrast to the processes of individualization and anonymity fostered by the metropolis, as described by Simmel (2005). Moreover, the experience of the city—through a transgressive practice such as pixação—enables the development of specific techniques of the body (Mauss, 2005). From a privileged point of view—“from within” the movement—the work explores the emergence of a point (meeting spot) in João Pessoa and the subjective dimensions of the pixadores involved in this scene, culminating in the ethnographic film produced throughout the research, entitled Pixação and Friendship.