Gestures II
Behind every gesture is a jewel
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Behind every gesture is a jewel
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Cabinet #1
Living organisms evolve to adapt to new environmental circumstances. GMO's, monocultures, urbs, massive forest devastation, irreversible processes... man-made landscapes.
There is a rhythm in every process, maintaining balance?
Nature´s law. Genetic selection. Evolution and extinction.
In nature lies a great capacity to thrive, a force - an intelligence.
Will there be wonders to come?
Out of the Shell I / II
Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow; he who would search for pearls must dive below.
John Dryden
John Dryden
Pearls have always been esteemed as something mystical and beautiful therefore worth seeking, possessing and evaluating. Their value is meaningful to people for it makes them feel special, pure, healthy and wealthy. The aura of value intensified through generations is however thin and vulnerable if we consider how pearls come to exist. Pearls result from oyster, mussel and clam secretions in response to irritations caused by external or internal stimuli. In this self-defense reaction the animal incorporates the intruder, embellishing it and making it an extension of its body. This is a wonder of nature. But if so, is the beauty attributed to pearls independent from the beautiful animal? Isn't the self-healing process magical rather than the result of it alone?
Out of the shell I / II were made on the occasion on the exhibition with the same title, curated by Sherry Simms and Sayumi Yokouchi at Loupe Gallery, Montclair
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überstein
More information at www.idembooks.com
3 a hard seed in my hands'*
*Poem from the book überstein, Ed. Leonor Hipólito, 2009
During the summer of 2008 I was in residence in Idar-Oberstein, Germany.
The projects überstein, Gaia and Lab were started there and later finished in my studio in Lisbon.
For überstein I published a book with the same title. This book portrays the very particular
experience of my residence, combining jewels with poems.
More information at www.idembooks.com
'stone |stōn|
noun
1 hard, solid matter in which my thoughts were scratched
2 a piece shaped for a purpose
*Poem from the book überstein, Ed. Leonor Hipólito, 2009
During the summer of 2008 I was in residence in Idar-Oberstein, Germany.
The projects überstein, Gaia and Lab were started there and later finished in my studio in Lisbon.
For überstein I published a book with the same title. This book portrays the very particular
experience of my residence, combining jewels with poems.
überstein was exhibited at Gallery Reverso, Lisbon 2009 and at Villa Bengel, Idar-Oberstein, 2010
Gaia
From the inanimate pile of stones I could sense life; veins, bones, glands.
Lines that made me think of time, motion and, evolution. Textures I recognized as if they were archaeological findings, colors and, compositions from which I could draw successive parallelisms with other life forms. Intricate systems where all the divergence converged into the same stream.
According to Greek mythology Gaia represents the Goddess of the Earth, the primordial element of generation. The big mother that gives and takes, nourishes and devours. The force that sustains and generates the order in the world.
In the late 60's Dr. James Lovelock developed what after this deity he called the 'Gaia hypothesis'.
The 'Gaia theory' as it is called nowadays is an ecological issue that states Earth as a single living organism. Forming a self-regulating system Earth's atmosphere, oceans and biota are seen as greatly affecting the chemistry and conditions existenting and maintaining environment optimal for life. Just as individual organisms do on their own.
Gaia was exhibited at Villa Bengel, Idar-Oberstein, 2010
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Lab
Can we encapsulate the sensations the material upholds? And extend ourselves to all sides, into Nature, until the volatility of our sensations enable us to feel life as a form?'
Lab joins five objects which together form a unit, a thought or perhaps a question over a thought. It is following the image of various laboratory instruments that we first associate handling of instruments with manipulation of matter. Filtration, combustion, evaporation; methodical gestures that cause substance to alter. Scheduled procedures, notes and, diagrams that convert transformations into predictable sequences. Fragments of Nature that are being replicated by the attempt to capture its essence. On a second view though, it becomes clear that the 'encapsulated forces' are the same that form the objects themselves, as if spilled out, they have reached another state. Nature is then seen as a laboratory by itself.
Lab was integrated in the collective exhibition On the Other Hand curated by Cristina Filipe and Paula Crespo at Gallery Reverso, Lisbon, 2009 and exhibited at Villa Bengel, Idar-Oberstein, 2010
Lab was integrated in the collective exhibition On the Other Hand curated by Cristina Filipe and Paula Crespo at Gallery Reverso, Lisbon, 2009 and exhibited at Villa Bengel, Idar-Oberstein, 2010
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Human Patterns
A moment of silence. An intermittent but endless line of silence. A blank space our mind can fill in with thought. Stories embodied in fragments of repetition. Memories looped in a waiting line. How many seconds make a moment? We might fold the line into a circle while time keeps slipping away.
Human Patterns was made on the occasion of the collective exhibition In Their Own Words at Bank Street Arts, Sheffield, 2009 and exhibited at Gallery Goldfinger, Copenhagen, 2010
Human Patterns was made on the occasion of the collective exhibition In Their Own Words at Bank Street Arts, Sheffield, 2009 and exhibited at Gallery Goldfinger, Copenhagen, 2010
