Artist
Maria Leonardo Cabrita
Maria Leonardo Cabrita lives and works in Lisbon, where she is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Fine Arts. She holds an MFA in Multimedia Art from the University of Fine Arts, Lisbon; a Diploma in Photography from the Art Academy of Munich; and a BFA/BA in Sculpture from the Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon. Cabrita’s practice engages a range of subjects, from history and science to other non-artistic practices. She often seeks to question the nature of photography, inverting the relationship between the referent and the referenced, and between what’s seen and what’s perceived. Her current project questions the interconnectivity between optical mirages, images and the act of seeing. Her works have been exhibited throughout Europe and beyond.
Vulcano
In the 19th century, the French astronomer Urban Le Verrier – known for the discovery of Neptune – found that the precession of Mercury perihelion was bigger than Newton's theory of gravity had predicted. In an attempt to explain the discrepancy, he presumed the existence of a planetary mass located between the Sun and Mercury. The idea gained traction when an amateur astronomer, Edmond Lescarbault, claimed to have seen the planet transiting the sun on March 26th, 1859. After meeting him to confirm the observation, Urban Le Verrier was convinced; he rapidly announced the discovery of the new planet, naming it Vulcano. A hunt by both professional and amateur astronomers began, but nothing was ever found. It simply wasn't there.
The hypothesis only collapsed in 1915, with the discovery of Einstein’s theory of general relativity. An entirely different approach to the understanding of gravity was introduced, presuming that space and time were dynamic rather than static. Consequently, a vast mass like the sun creates curvature in space-time, shaping Mercury’s orbit itself. The existence of another planet was no longer a viable possibility. My project presents the rediscovery of Vulcano and its imaginary cosmos. It joins together pictures and geological features from a small island called Vulcano, a black and white archive, a video, photograms of rocks, and Einstein’s grid of relativity.
Oasis
"Oasis" is an ongoing project of fictional landscapes inspired by optical mirages. Mirages have an intriguing relationship with photography since they both share a fraudulent and phantasmagoric nature, derived from reality but not entirely accurately; thus, shaped by a distorted perspective of it. By creating these sceneries, the artist points us again and again to our limitations, to the fact that access to reality through our perceptual apparatus stands on a conceivably questionable foundation.
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.