WORKS . 2009

ILHAS MÁGICAS

With Azorian roots from my mother's side of the family, more precisely, from the island of São Miguel, I have felt attracted to the sensations that this welcoming island has to offer, since I was a little kid. It was always a pleasure to spend the length of time during summer holidays when our family would come here... For uncertain reasons, that maybe only now have gained significance, it took a full 25 years for me to prepare this return. And this renewed meeting was made possible through the steady support of Anima.

Part 1: 9 Islands
I prepared this exhibition as if it were a single piece of art, or maybe even a singular peice of art. A cohesive set of paintings, taking its cues from the history of Atlantis, the year 2009, numerology and the presence of this exceptional Light. These are the contrasts that characterize each of the islands, from the coarse to the subtle. Everything was felt, interiorized and lived to be reduced into a work of art that could represent the whole experience...the historical connection, our roots, our present, and even the sketches of the future...simplified. The thesis. Living matter.

Part 2: 9 doors
The nine doors represent an individual process of a consciously chosen path, of Being, of Truth...Many teachers and pupils have gone before us...and all, in some humble form or other, I strive to represent. With the islands and their history well in mind, and basing myself on the Golden Rule, Phi, this spiral came into being, that connects al the archipelago's islands. Each door represents a stage in this process of the Soul - even if there is no sequential order - the doors try to establish a profound thread that, once again, connects the coarse to the subtle, matter to spirit. Time to space...The antithesis.

Third Part: Décima 01
It's the magic island that arose only to be immediately gobbled up by the ocean...The union between the 9 islands and the 9 doors. The synthesis of the process. The connection between the islands and the doors. While researching in preparation of this process I lreant that at some time there existed a tenth island named Sabrina, that came into being through a volcanic eruption in 1811, off the coast of S. Miguel, and that was conquered, as British soil, by an Inglish commander the name of whose ship became the name of the Island. The 10th rose up to 90 metres above sea level - note the ever present number 9 here - only to disappear a few months later.

Fernando Pessoa has been a presence in my work, and his message has accompanied my steps...He too was a lover of numerology and symbolism. The excerpt on this canvas comes from a poem that Pessoa wrote when he was thrity years old, at which age he visited Ilha Terceira with his parents, where they had family. It was written in remembrance of his sister, whose passing away at such a tender age left a profound mark on him... 'Décima 01' represents an ascenscion and a restart...within a cycle in which the micro and the macro cosmos unite. It brings the whole process together. In faithful hope of a world in love I leave...the 9 magical islands.

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