Blur seeks to capture and convey the complexity of everyday life

in the countries around the Adriatic — a region that, throughout history, has undergone profound changes, with a history of conflict that includes the world wars of the 20th century and the last war to take place in Europe before the new millennium.

Blur seeks to show how constant changes to borders render them blurred — they are defined politically, but are not always real. To those who do not belong to the region and are unfamiliar with that strong sense of otherness that recent history has instilled in it, it is possible to see, on both sides of the border, the similarities inherited through crossings over the years, the mix of destinies of each people in that territory. The differences are

superficial and artificial.

Blur addresses this unconsciously shared identity (at least as far as cultural habits are concerned), the confusion between political borders and similarities between peoples, and the difficulty of establishing an identity that is not, in some way, common to all. Blur also addresses the uncertainty of the future — between the temptation to create stricter borders, resistance to difference, the emphasis placed on what separates peoples, and everything that runs counter to the European ideal of unity, now lost.

(*) ‘Blur’ is a term adopted from Hal Foster’s book *Design and Crime*, in which he uses it to refer to the blurring of boundaries — between disciplines and movements — as one of the fundamental characteristics of the early 21st century.

Curated by Susana Lourenço Marques

This exhibition is part of the project

(In)visibilities and Drifts supported by DGARTES

Lara Jacinto (Leiria, 1982) is a freelance photographer who lives and works in Porto. A PhD candidate in Fine Arts at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Porto, she graduated in Multimedia Design from the University of Beira Interior (2004) and later studied photography at the Portuguese Institute of Photography in Porto (2010).

Her work is currently divided between personal projects and commissions from public and private institutions, often linked to documentary, architectural and portrait photography.

Her work addresses contemporary themes, focusing on social and territorial issues. Her most recent projects have been dedicated to borders, identity and migration.

His work is frequently exhibited and published, both in Portugal and abroad. He teaches at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Porto and at ESMAD, the Polytechnic Institute of Porto