ROOMS 9 AND 11
Myths... Non... Inside out...
D. Sebastião occupies the centre of this room. Cut, pasted and
reinterpreted, he reveals the
mechanism of the myth: “the
nothingness that is everything”,
neither front nor back.
Consisting of several fragments of papier-maché, painted on both sides, José de
Guimarães’ statue of king D. Sebastião
questions the creation of the myth. We
see him riding a strange horse. In his
hand, instead of a sword, he wields a serpent, that is his own torso. An abnormal
montage, this figure of D. Sebastião questions the limits of painting and the unity
of the figure represented. Based on cutting and collage, using invisible scissors
that fragment the unity of the narration.
Cinematographic montage, which consists of bringing together different narrative “blocks” in a sequence, structures our
interpretation of the works on display.
The broad mural intervention by the
artist Horácio Frutuoso (1991), the documents from the film Non ou Vã Glória de
Mandar (No, or the Vain Glory of Command) (1990) by Manoel Oliveira (1908-
2015), the phantasmagoria of Queen
Nzinga, recorded by Kiluanji Kia Henda
and a video-installation The Stuffed Shirt
by artist Anna Franceschini (1979) explore the mechanics of myth. They transform and deform the meanings.
Horácio Frutuoso intervenes on the
walls as if they were pages of a book.
Exploring the baroque richness of the
images in the text of Father António
Vieira (1608-1697), the artist alludes to
the body of S. Sebastião, transformed
into a battlefield. The documents of
Manoel de Oliveira’s film, notes and
images from the shoot, in turn, evoke
the reverse shot from the main action.
Dense, even when it appears to be crystalline, the montage of myth is close to
the montage of cinema, since it reveals
as much as it hides.
At the same time, the sound of strange
and noisy machinery pervades the
room. In a clothing factory, such as
those in the Ave valley region (Minho),
men’s clothing is subjected to a series
of folding operations, movements and
twists. A symbol of performance and virility, the clothes are transformed into a
sad and comical body
FOR ALL AGES
Manoel de Oliveira was born
in 1908, in Porto. He was the
longest active filmmaker in
the history of cinema, covering
a total of 84 years between
his first film, “Douro, Faina
Fluvial”, in 1931, and his last
film, “Um Século de Energia”, in
2015. With a filmography that
includes more than fifty titles,
he was the only filmmaker
to make the transition from
silent to sound cinema, from
black and white to colour film,
and from silver nitrate film to
digital media. Known as “the
Master”, Manoel de Oliveira
was internationally recognised
by the world’s most important
film festivals as a master of
film art and due to his longevity
was the “oldest living filmmaker
still actively working within the
industry”, since he continued to
film until the age of 106.
Horácio Frutuoso was
born in 1991, in Vila Nova
de Famalicão. He studied
at the Faculty of Fine Arts,
University of Porto. He was
a member of the SINTOMA
group and co-author of the
artistic project “Expedição”
(Expedition). His work combines
painting with graphic poetry,
using digital media and
installation-performance. He
has regularly collaborated with
the Teatro Praga since 2016.
His solo exhibitions include the
Serralves Museum (2019), in
Porto, and the Balcony Gallery
(2018 and 2020), in Lisbon,
and he also participated in the
“Ponto de Fuga” (Vanishing
Point) exhibition, held at
Cordoaria Nacional Lisboa and
“Haus Wittgenstein” , at MAAT,
Lisbon (2018).
Kiluanji Kia Henda was born
in 1979, in Angola and lives and
works in Luanda. Kia Henda
explores photography, video,
performance, installation and
object-sculpture with humour
and irony, moving far beyond
merely fitting together pieces
of a puzzle from different
historical episodes. His work
materialises fictional narratives
and transposes facts to different time periods and contexts.
He has participated in several
exhibitions, including “The
Divine Comedy”, in the Museum
für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt
and the Smithsonian Institute,
Washington, 2014; “Surround
the Audience”, New Museum
Triennial, New York, 2015;
“Museum (Science) Fictions
- MUSEUM ON/OFF”, Centre
George Pompidou, Paris, 2016;
“Constellations”, Tate Gallery,
2017. In 2017, he received the
Frieze Artist Award.
Anna Franceschini was born
in 1979, in Pavia (Italy). She
has a BA Hons. degree in Media
Studies in Milan and received
a postgraduate scholarship in
History and Criticism of Italian
Cinema. Her work has been
presented and won awards
at important European film
festivals and, while working primarily with film and video, she
has also worked in the fields of
sculpture and installation. She
has worked on a recurring basis
with objects, spaces and the
concept of cinema. She has participated in group exhibitions in
several museums and international art institutions. Her solo
exhibitions include Palazzo delle Esposizioni (Rome), Fiorucci
Art Trust, (London), Galeria Vera
Cortês (Lisbon).
FOR ALL AGES
Manoel de Oliveira was born
in 1908, in Porto. He was the
longest active filmmaker in
the history of cinema, covering
a total of 84 years between
his first film, “Douro, Faina
Fluvial”, in 1931, and his last
film, “Um Século de Energia”, in
2015. With a filmography that
includes more than fifty titles,
he was the only filmmaker
to make the transition from
silent to sound cinema, from
black and white to colour film,
and from silver nitrate film to
digital media. Known as “the
Master”, Manoel de Oliveira
was internationally recognised
by the world’s most important
film festivals as a master of
film art and due to his longevity
was the “oldest living filmmaker
still actively working within the
industry”, since he continued to
film until the age of 106.
Horácio Frutuoso was
born in 1991, in Vila Nova
de Famalicão. He studied
at the Faculty of Fine Arts,
University of Porto. He was
a member of the SINTOMA
group and co-author of the
artistic project “Expedição”
(Expedition). His work combines
painting with graphic poetry,
using digital media and
installation-performance. He
has regularly collaborated with
the Teatro Praga since 2016.
His solo exhibitions include the
Serralves Museum (2019), in
Porto, and the Balcony Gallery
(2018 and 2020), in Lisbon,
and he also participated in the
“Ponto de Fuga” (Vanishing
Point) exhibition, held at
Cordoaria Nacional Lisboa and
“Haus Wittgenstein” , at MAAT,
Lisbon (2018).
Kiluanji Kia Henda was born
in 1979, in Angola and lives and
works in Luanda. Kia Henda
explores photography, video,
performance, installation and
object-sculpture with humour
and irony, moving far beyond
merely fitting together pieces
of a puzzle from different
historical episodes. His work
materialises fictional narratives
and transposes facts to different time periods and contexts.
He has participated in several
exhibitions, including “The
Divine Comedy”, in the Museum
für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt
and the Smithsonian Institute,
Washington, 2014; “Surround
the Audience”, New Museum
Triennial, New York, 2015;
“Museum (Science) Fictions
- MUSEUM ON/OFF”, Centre
George Pompidou, Paris, 2016;
“Constellations”, Tate Gallery,
2017. In 2017, he received the
Frieze Artist Award.
Anna Franceschini was born
in 1979, in Pavia (Italy). She
has a BA Hons. degree in Media
Studies in Milan and received
a postgraduate scholarship in
History and Criticism of Italian
Cinema. Her work has been
presented and won awards
at important European film
festivals and, while working primarily with film and video, she
has also worked in the fields of
sculpture and installation. She
has worked on a recurring basis
with objects, spaces and the
concept of cinema. She has participated in group exhibitions in
several museums and international art institutions. Her solo
exhibitions include Palazzo delle Esposizioni (Rome), Fiorucci
Art Trust, (London), Galeria Vera
Cortês (Lisbon).
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