Eyes that seek the Unseen
Now from a morning walk along the North Bank. I was carrying the small Soviet-made camera Smena-8 and took advantage of the intermitent sunlight.
Some people standing, walking, running and cycling
A few steps West, a meditating person sittin on an old pier – and a couple walking slowly on the rocks as if looking for something.
A cheap plastic camera can make decent images !!!
Inspired by a some surrealism with a small pinch of dark humour
I assigned this image under the category of “Still Life”… It is, in my opinion.
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.
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)
“Contrasto” is an anual event in my neighbourhood.
It is promoted by an active group of neighbours, and promotes socializing through music (plenty of music) , small workshops, activities for children, art exhibitions, a market of home-made artisanal products, eating, drinking and dancing until 10pm.
There is an active participation of all the neighbours.
This year I had the idea of a “Get wings ! ” project.
I made two pairs of wings and hanged them. People could be photographed in front of those wings – instant photos were taken with a “mini-Instax camera” and the subjects collected them by the end of the day. Different results, this camera is quite tricky and very sensitive to light variations, but the idea was appreciated and the participation exceeded my expectations.
“Boxing Clash #2”, an amateur boxing match between Portuguese and Italian teams in a Gym near Lisbon, Lots of enthusiasm, some agressivity and violence to an acceptable level (no serious injuries, no bleedings). Not being a fan or an expert, it was an interesting experience to me. I was surprised by the high number of women watching the match – and by their vocal incentives to the fighters.
Today, September 4th, the centenary of Surrealism is celebrated.
To celebrate the date, two photos from the “Red Nails” series.
Red Nails and Banana
Flowers, new and old
Happy celebration !!!
A walk yesterday along the south bank of the Tagus, on a calm morning with gray skies and little sun. Low tide leaves large areas of mud along the shore, covered in green slime. On the muddy surface an old fisherman is making repairs on his boat, probably as old as he is. Further ahead, a goose walks proudly, dominating his territory.
The magnificent sunlight after 5:00 PM. Two scenes near a ticket machine for a sub-urban train. The second photo reminded me of a song from the sixties by the Beatles “Ticket to Ride”
In downtown Lisbon there is a a Doll's Hospital were some experts repair and restore collectible dolls, some of them highly priced. A visit to the premises is somehow creepy, the dolls are always associated with small children and seeing their parts spreaded around is quite impressive.
At Art’s Garden, an exhibition of fabric decoration made from plant leaves and stems, using the natural properties of plants to leave marks on the texture of the fabrics. Some mannequins, or their parts, helped to compose the set. A few of them called my attention.
An exhibition of photographs by Daniel Blaufuks at the Museum of Architecture Art and Technology (MAAT) in Lisbon. I selected two of many photos exposed. A few hundreds of small instax photos, isolated or paired, with hand-written, printed or glued captions.
From the introductory text by João Pinharanda :
“We created time and immediately felt hemmed in and devoured by it. Memory is a betrayal of time. We have always tried, without success, to escape it, to negate its erosive influence – a Sisyphean task in which Blaufuks, who exposes to the world the weight of the myriad epochs and memories (family, personal, historical, political, cultural, …) he carries, participates.
Some more information here https://maat.pt/en/event/daniel-blaufuks-days-are-numbered
Some more sketches from a recent live model drawing session
And a beach bench at sunset – it lacks a model sitting there
Saturday afternoon, South bank of the Tagus. People gather there to meet, eat and drink.
Some people prefer to be left alone. A moment of rest to settle ideas and feelings
Others choose to dance. A group of friends, or more probably an informal dancing class. They bring their own music and dance in pairs. One of them directs the others, giving instructions before each music sometimes correcting their movements. They seem to take this quite seriously – but they share and communicate a lot of joy.
Some people make and play their own music…
… while others sit and talk, probably about the good old times
June 13th was Lisbon’s municipal holiday – and that day coincides with the date of birth of the painter Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (1908-1992). There was a celebration at the Arpad Szenes-Vieira da Silva museum and in Amoreiras Garden, in front of the museum. As I passed by I noticed a group of children watching a puppet show.
It’s nice to see children looking at a something alive instead of being mesmerized by a screen…
João Avelar images 