The chapter explores deep memory and embodied artistic research methods elaborated in our collaborative artistic research project, Mãe Preta ("Black Mother") that investigates the visual and social history of Black motherhood in Brazil, from times of slavery to the present. Using visual archives and participatory and embodied artistic methods, the project is contextualized in historical and political realities regarding the architectonic and visual legacy of slavery in Brazil, in a time of burgeoning Afro-feminist social mobilizations in the 21st century. The essay details our methodological approach, emphasizing ethical considerations such as building trust with cultural institutions and local communities, considering the role of a deep memory of the slave past as ways of critically addressing visual archives through installation, performance, and visual narratives. We highlight challenges such as securing funding from cultural institutions and navigating political agendas as well as issues of care in dealing with traumatic histories in contested terrains. Overall, the essay problematizes deep memory and embodied artistic research in landscapes of historical trauma in a way that is ethical and socially engaged.