Artist
Gonçalo C. Silva
Gonçalo C. Silva (b. 1997) lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal. He has studied at both the Faculty of Fine-Arts in Lisbon and at Atelier de Lisboa, and is currently pursuing an MA at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities from NOVA University of Lisbon. In his work, which applies an artistic approach to photography, Silva addresses themes related to the representation of the landscape, and to the relationship between humans and nature. In his projects, the interconnection of images from different contexts creates new meanings and narratives with a strong symbolic character, related to the artist’s personal experiences.
What is left
The human experience of a place is inseparable from our prior knowledge of it, and from the relationships we seek to establish to the place in question. The Romans used the Latin term ‘Genius Loci’ – the spirit of the place – to define the indefinable; the genius of a place inhabited by man. It’s a series of mystical and often ephemeral characteristics that makes us feel we belong to a certain place. My photographic project seeks to explore this idea of belonging, considering the possibility of feeling at home in places we would least expect to. More than finding answers, it’s interesting to raise some questions: What is the meaning of home? Can nature give us the feeling of home? Can we feel at home in a place we've never been before?
Maria Cabrita’s work investigates issues and subjects related to history, science and other non-artistic practices to question the nature of photography and its aspirations for objectivity. Referring to the illusionary and fragile aspects of the medium, her projects explore the interconnectivity between optical mirages, images and the act of seeing. Cabrita is currently studying towards a PhD at Belas-Artes, Art and Multimedia, Faculty of Fine Arts in Lisbon.
Joana Dionisio’s narratives are deeply rooted in autobiographical and personal memories, while also presenting intersubjective realities between human and non-human worlds through photographs that touch the very basic nature of our existence, the fragility of life, and our mortality. Her ongoing work entitled A world that speaks in your ear is a multi- layered visual, sensual and philosophical experience. Dionisio lives in Porto, and holds an MA in Artistic and Documentary Photography.
Marta Machado’s work examines the ambiguities of history, focusing on themes of colonialism, identity and territory. Her recent series Nos Txôn explores, through an autobiographical context, the photographic image as a tool of signification. Machado holds an MA in Photography from the School of Arts of the Catholic University of Porto, and is a part of the research project TRACTS at St. Andrew’s University.
Gonçalo C. Silva’s practice often focuses on themes related to the representation of the landscape and the relationship between humans and nature. His project What is left is a photographic investigation exploring ideas of belonging, and the possibility of finding the feeling of ‘home’. Silva is currently undertaking an MA in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities from NOVA University of Lisbon.
Carolina Tardin studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon. Working with both images and text, her practice explores the possibilities of the medium of photography. Her project entitled me, you and the spaces between (eu, você e os espaços entre) touches on the notions of presence, recognition, and memory. It is a very intimate attempt at instant observation; a meta-language embodied by the author and full of poetic, fragile narratives.