Sardines from outer space
Our nets brought in thousands of sardines from over 60 countries, ranging from Afghanistan to Brazil, from Singapore to Myanmar, from Matosinhos port to Olhão market. In order to celebrate this diverse array of origins, and indeed ideas, we have selected 130 specimens not only from the here and now, but also a few that are, creatively speaking, from other galaxies, far, far away.
Having one’s head in the clouds but one’s tail fin firmly planted on the ground is a characteristic that sardines are thought to have learned from certain human beings, and it’s not the only one.
This motley shoal also contains a number of intellectual sardines who have quite the penchant for quoting anything and everything that has to do with the idea of ‘otherness’, a charming quirk for all its incongruousness. As the Camonian sardine says, ‘It is a yearning for nothing but to yearn’. If in this exhibition you find a sardine that is your soulmate, catch a glimpse of the Arraial (popular festivity) that is just your cup of tea or see the galaxy that you always wanted to visit, then we can spruce up the trawler and relax, rejoicing in a job well done.