Last week-end, a Blue Grass Festival took place at Trafaria Casino (an ostentatious name for a nice local social club). A very welcoming ambience, free-entrance and several blue-grass bands from different countries. Many amateur musicians played together in small spontaneous groups, creating jam-sessions before and after the professional performances. A very relaxed atmosphere , a sense of togetherness and the good music made this a memorable event for me-
Tunning the guitar
The Casino, a typical building from the early XX century. The tiled floor is precious !
Some members of the Crying Uncle Blue-grass Band (USA) with an invited banjo performer
From a short visit to Nicosia, Cyprus, under a 38.C sun. Photos were made in the Greek side of the city (Republic of Cyprus) and in the Turkish side (self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Norther Cyprus). The border control is very strict, photos of the control posts are forbidden in both sides : armed policemen, fences and barbed wire mark the division between both sides. It is, I think, the last divided capital in Europe …
Büyük Han, a former caravanserai built in the XVI century, in the Turkish side of Nicosia. It was recently restored and now has some shops and restaurants inside
In July 1974, Turkish troops occupied the north and east of the island of Cyprus. This territory gave rise to the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is separated from the Republic of Cyprus by a winding line of territory controlled by United Nations military forces.
At the eastern end of this line, in the area currently controlled by the United Nations, near the city of Famagusta, the Varosha tourist resort was built with an excellent beach, buildings, houses, shops and all the necessary infrastructure along the coast. Faced with the approach of Turkish troops in 1974, the inhabitants abandoned their homes within a few days in a hurry.
The resort of Varosha has remained empty and off-limits for decades. Recently, visitors have been allowed during the day, but no entry into the houses, which are surrounded by fences. They also allow access to the beach during the day.
The area is clean, with no rubbish on the streets, no graffiti on the walls and no animals to be seen. Trees and wild weeds grow freely. It is a case of pure natural decay without human intervention. There is a profound silence and, despite the good weather, the atmosphere is heavy.
Another composition with the glass eye and table-tennis balls
Zantedeschia aethiopica mirabilis .
Grows spontaneously in some dark places (such as the consciences of mass murderers, genocide perpetrators, tyrants, dictators…). It is an invasive species.
Bonjour Mr René M
The unexpected find of a bowler hat in flea-market. The hat was in a very good condition and was sent to the factory to be cleaned and to have the lining replaced. A small size hat ,nevertheless a good subject for a photo. I still have to try some different backgrounds – and a body with a better structure.
Yggdrasil is an immense and central sacred tree in Norse cosmology. Around it exists all else, including the Nine Worlds. Yggdrasil is central to the cosmos and considered very holy. The gods go to Yggdrasil daily to assemble at their traditional governing assemblies. The branches of Yggdrasil extend far into the heavens, and the tree is supported by three roots that extend far away into other locations. This information was provided by Wikipedia, and there are other versions of a giant World’s Tree (Orbis Terrarum Arbore) in several cosmogonies . Imagining the world as a tree is a nice idea – I made a less solemn and more trivial version of the Yggdrasil, oil on canvas 60 X 100 cm
Two more smaller paintings (40 X 40, oil on plywood.) “Chess” and “Jongleur”
The Mermaid nun again. With the same copper plate used for the first etching print, an experiment trial of aquatint technique was tried. Three different layers of varnish were used, with the copper plate being “bitted” by acid in the intervals, Finally, blue ink was spread on the copper plate and the print was made.
This technique allowed in this case three diferent tonalities of blue ink to be printed. It is possible to do more, if one has the patience to repeat the varnish layers and acid exposures.
Last Saturday, another drawing session with live model in Cascais, Portugal. This time in the House of Stories, a museum and arts center dedicated to the works of artist Paula Rego. A very inspiring venue with suitable space and lighting
After the sessions, the participants lay their drawings on the floor. Comparing and discussing some of the results is an interesting parto of the session .
A winter morning walk along the river, with a new camera that was kindly given to me at Christmas. On the left bank, in the shade, the restaurants are still empty.
The old stones on the ground show the humidity left over from the night
A seagull on top of a crane watches who passes by
The same small boats moored next to the pier, float on the dark water
At the end, a bench to rest and admire the city, in the sun, across the river.
During the tour, I made a cell-phone photo of a heart painted on the cement ground by an unknown street artist. People step aside to avoid stepping on it…
Friday 13th, is, for some, an ominous day, when bad things are supposed to happen.
Not for me.
Last Friday December 13th I went to the movies: a film about czech Photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková .( http://www.jarcovjakova.com/ ) A sucession of her black and white photos capturing scenes from her life in Prague in the sixties – mostly night-life scenes, of marginal minority groups. Lots of pictures also from Japan and West Berlin – fefore and after the fall of the Wall. Not my kind of photography, but anyway a well constructed documentary about her life and work.
Another exhibition of images, now from a portuguese photojournalist Carlos Lopes, who documented scenes from the political activity in the days after the April revolution. Late afternoon I was sitting outside with a glass of wine in dowtown Lisbon. Crowds of people shopping for Christmas, street musicians playing and a general feeling of joy.
At 6:00 PM at Santa Clara Market an interesting exhibition from the “12 X 12 group”. This is an association of former and current Arts students. Their small-format works (watercolour paintings,engravings, drawings) was presented inside plastic CD boxes and sold at low prices.
Later, at the same venue, a drawing session with a live model
Some months ago I posted a few photos of the ruins of a Sanatorium from the beginning of the last century.
The building was never completed, as the owner , a former wealthy entrepreneur, went bankrupt . The remains of the building were remarkably well preserved, no garbage or signs of depredation were visible. The stone walls stood there seemingly indifferent to the passage of time.
Now the bad news: the hundred-year old stone walls were demolished by the current owner, Some sort of hotel will be built there, according to what I know. Another loss… Human actions have more destructive power than the passage of time.
A long street was finally embelished wit a variety of graffiti and mural paintings along its decaying walls. I went there yesterday and took some photos.
The artists were invited by the City Council and they were given total freedom to paint whatever they wanted. This a good way to change an uninteresting (even depressive) street in a sort of public art gallery.
This week-end a Graffiti contest took place near where I live. A long street with empty decaying walls was invaded by many street artist. I was there at the beginning, last Saturday
I will return there next week to photograph the finished work (Part 2)
«Filhos do Meio – Hip Hop à Margem» is the new temporary exhibition at the Almada Museum – Casa da Cidade, scheduled to open on October 26th at 3:00 pm, and which will occupy the two floors of the temporary exhibition wing of Casa da Cidade until the end of March 2025.
The exhibition is part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April 1974 and also marks the 30th anniversary of the RAPublica collection, the first compilation of Portuguese rap, released in 1994. It aims to provide an interpretation of the identity of Almada, integrating the cultural movements fostered by the 1974 Revolution, stimulated by the arrival of new populations and their reproduction in the municipality of Almada, highlighting the contribution of the hip hop culture that was founded there and giving expression to geographical and cultural areas of the municipality that are less known to the general public. The guiding theme focuses on the post-25th of April because it is in these youthful dynamics fostered by the younger generations that the creative processes have been constructed over these 50 years, in a permanent exchange with similar territorial realities in spaces that cross Almada and the Costa da Caparica with the municipalities of the Setúbal peninsula and the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.
The exhibition includes sections dedicated to the history of hip hop in Portugal and Almada, with links to fashion, breakdancing and pirate radio stations; highlighting expressions such as graffiti and rap in Portuguese, associating them with television media coverage and ending with the current creative situation, framed in an independent record market, streaming and social networks. This exhibition of colour, light and sound presents hip hop as an integral part of youth expression, rooted in the outskirts of the city of Lisbon, inserting it into the national music scene, but, above all, highlighting its uniqueness from Almada, the most local thing that these “middle children” have brought to the national music scene since then.
At the same time, Casa da Cidade will host a complementary programme, one Saturday a month, where music, dance and graffiti will be the main starting points for conversations and workshops dedicated to the central theme of this exhibition….”
I visited the opening session yesterday, some snapshots below
João Avelar images 