36
Installation
Audiovisual projection on fabric with photo transfer and bed frame | 10’16” loop
In Senderiz, everyone talks about the 36.
A stone that seems to have a geographical function - to tell us that the border is right there, in that place.
It silently announces that Portugal is on one side and Spain on the other.
Yet what this landmark didn't foresee is that it is instead at the service of the symbolic, as a space activated by the meetings that took place there, the contraband that was there traded, the several exchanges of rye and corn bread between Portuguese and Spanish women. A place of both vigilance and courage, fear and audacity. A stone that marks a line that, after all, through all the layers of experience, is more blurred than clean.
As an immersive moment, 36 merges all these dimensions in a gesture mediated by light, in a dialogue between the permanence of the landmark - in an image generated by Polaroid transparencies, which are also merged by light - and video projection, which questions the map as an instrument for reducing reality. They meet in a rusty bed frame, an object that, all over the village and region, is reconverted into a garden gate.
The installation "36" is a part of André Araújo's artistic residency in Sende in July 2024, whose process, reflections and material explorations can be further found in the journal Border Fieldnotes: Senderiz.
Produced in the context of an Artistic Residence in SENDE under the Culture Moves Europe Program
This work was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.
A stone that seems to have a geographical function - to tell us that the border is right there, in that place.
It silently announces that Portugal is on one side and Spain on the other.
Yet what this landmark didn't foresee is that it is instead at the service of the symbolic, as a space activated by the meetings that took place there, the contraband that was there traded, the several exchanges of rye and corn bread between Portuguese and Spanish women. A place of both vigilance and courage, fear and audacity. A stone that marks a line that, after all, through all the layers of experience, is more blurred than clean.
As an immersive moment, 36 merges all these dimensions in a gesture mediated by light, in a dialogue between the permanence of the landmark - in an image generated by Polaroid transparencies, which are also merged by light - and video projection, which questions the map as an instrument for reducing reality. They meet in a rusty bed frame, an object that, all over the village and region, is reconverted into a garden gate.
The installation "36" is a part of André Araújo's artistic residency in Sende in July 2024, whose process, reflections and material explorations can be further found in the journal Border Fieldnotes: Senderiz.
Produced in the context of an Artistic Residence in SENDE under the Culture Moves Europe Program
This work was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.
Em Senderiz, toda a gente fala do 36.
Uma pedra que parece ter uma função geográfica - dizer-nos que a fronteira está mesmo ali, naquele sítio. Anuncia silenciosamente que Portugal está de um lado e Espanha do outro.
Mas o que este marco não anteviu é que está antes ao serviço do simbólico, como espaço ativado pelos encontros que ali se realizavam, pelo contrabando que ali se transaccionava, pelas várias trocas de pão de centeio e de milho entre mulheres portuguesas e espanholas. Um lugar de vigilância e de coragem, de medo e de audácia. Uma pedra que marca uma linha que, afinal, por todas as camadas de experiência, é mais turva do que límpida.
Como momento imersivo, 36 funde todas estas dimensões num gesto mediado pela luz, num diálogo entre a permanência do marco - numa imagem gerada por transparências Polaroid, também elas fundidas pela luz - e a projeção vídeo, que questiona o mapa como instrumento de redução da realidade.
A instalação "36" insere-se no âmbito da residência artística de André Araújo em Sende, em julho de 2024, cujo processo, reflexões e explorações materiais podem ser aprofundados na revista Border Fieldnotes: Senderiz.
Produzido no âmbito de uma Residência Artística na SENDE ao abrigo do Programa Culture Moves Europe
Este trabalho foi produzido com o apoio financeiro da União Europeia. As opiniões aqui expressas não podem, de forma alguma, ser consideradas como reflectindo a opinião oficial da União Europeia.