Eyes that seek the Unseen
An exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the April Revolution and the end of the colonial wars in Africa. Seven artists created images on very large semi-transparent canvases, installed in the abandoned buildings of the largest ship repair industry in the Lisbon area.
There is visible light from the roof windows coming in through the canvases.
I was wandering about the concept of “sacred art”. As far as I know it concerns only christian inspired artworks. One can expand this concept to other cults and religions, as “The Sacred Art Collectors ” did. Oil on plywood, February 2024
The Adufe is a square-shaped membranophone, introduced to Portugal by the Arabs in the 8th and 9th centuries. It has a square wooden structure and is covered on both sides with tanned goatskin. Traditionally one of the faces is that of a male animal, the other that of a female animal (some say it sounds better that way !). In the corners there are decorations with colored ribbons.
It is played in a vertical position and struck with the fingers and hands. Inside there are grains, seeds or small stones that make a rattling noise when shaking the Adufe. It is an instrument usually played by women (“adufeiras”) and has a strong presence in the interior of central Portugal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adufe
I used the old and very rough wooden structure of a small-sized adufe as a frame for a small painting (oil on plywood), as a memory of its origin.
João Avelar images 