“I view the act of ‘making’ photographs as a pretext for engaging in a hermeneutic exercise. Indeed, I have always understood each set of photographs as a sketch of a possible interpretation of a reality which, precisely because it is, at least apparently, so close at hand, often stubbornly refuses to reveal itself.

Given the premise that reality, today, is increasingly less a subject of reflection, since the ‘package’ can be bought and consumed, preferably in the shortest possible time, to make way for a new and more sophisticated reality, it remains extremely stimulating, through the photographic act, to construct a discourse that seeks to ‘speak’, questioning itself and questioning that very maelstrom (communicational/informational, socio-cultural, economic, aesthetic...), which has as its stage a world in which everything happens simultaneously and which, often, can only be perceived as an intense noise that confuses us and numbs the spirit.

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions! Why try to show precisely that through pinhole photography?”

Rui Apolinário

MIRA | SALA project

The MIRA | SALA project aims to showcase photography projects (though not excluding other forms of expression) by artists who have the opportunity to display their work in a private space: a room used for workshops and meetings with a window opening onto MIRAflora, MIRA’s aromatic courtyard. We wish to make the most of this space by providing an opportunity to present established or experimental projects.

The spatial management of the proposals will be overseen by the MIRA Galerias team, but the project is managed by the artists. We provide for the production and dissemination of the project on social media and in our newsletters. Each project – individual or collective – must be submitted in advance to the management of MIRA Galerias via email to miragalerias@miragalerias.net. A brief biographical note, synopsis and portfolio must be sent alongside the proposal. Participation is free of charge.

PAST EVENTS: ver longo | Sofia Sequeira Pinto | 10 Mar – 6 May

UPCOMING EVENTS: Zilião’s Postcard Album | Adelino Marques | 12 Jun

Credits

MIRA Galerias | MIRA FORUM

Directed by Manuela Matos Monteiro and João Lafuente

Communications: Manuela Matos Monteiro and Beatriz Vital

Assistant: Beatriz Vital

Born in S. João da Madeira. He was a student at the photography studio at the S. João da Madeira Art Centre between 1988 and 1991, where he trained in the processing of black-and-white photographic film, slides and (chemical) printing. He subsequently attended various workshops in the field of black-and-white photographic printing, some of which were organised by the Portuguese Centre of Photography, as well as by the ‘La-Chambre-Noir’ (Paris) photographic printing (analogue) laboratory.

His photographic work includes active collaboration with various performing arts companies and institutions of a recreational, educational and training nature, as well as the conception and execution of personal projects, as diverse as, for example, the documentary recording of former industrial spaces and fine art exhibitions, as well as experimental projects, including the exploration and promotion of pinhole photography. In this field (pinhole photography), he has been a speaker at lectures and round-table discussions, as well as one of the curators of MIRA Pinhole Photography, an annual pinhole photography competition held in Porto at the Mira Galleries.