You are (not) here

“Places possess a spirit. But time doesn’t always allow them to keep the same one forever. In this piece of Lisbon, whatever it is in hectares (340), stretching from Terreiro do Paço to Entrecampos, ways of building, ways of letting go and part of a century died. Peace to its soil. In the middle of the last century, a certain desire for development placed a “black gold” refinery at the gates of the city which fed it, with a lighthouse to warn ships, surrounded by accumulated waste of all shapes and sizes. The 20th century was coming to an end and the capital was ignoring its eastside when, under the pretext of meeting other easts, it decided to throw itself into one of the biggest urban transformations the country has seen. The regeneration of this area was, after all, one of the main reasons that 20 years ago Portugal was chosen to organise the last world fair of the century (Expo ’98), in addition to its celebration of Vasco de Gama’s voyage and its choice of the oceans as its theme. One way to measure the success of the change is how our memory of what was here before has been erased. The work of the photographer is to capture spirits. And so it was that, at the beginning of 1994, Bruno Portela (Lisbon, 1966) was in the right place at the right time to record this end of an era. His vision became more than merely documental. On one hand, he does not ignore the human found in the structures, in the shapes, in the waste and the dust which seems to make up the landscape. On the other, he places inside our hearts the vague and solid sadness that arises from the passing of time. One city can hide another: be careful where you cross.”

João Paulo Cotrim

until 30 september
Photography exhibition by Bruno Portela
Parque das Nações, different locations
Seven exhibitions, with 78 large-scale photographs and a documental tone, will take the visitor to a past which, though recent, will seem faraway and unreal. One city can hide another: careful as you cross.

2 september, at 10.30am, writer Rui Cardoso Martins will guide the visitor through the exhibition. Meeting point: Torre Galp.

Photography: Bruno Portela
Curators: Francisco Leong and José Manuel Ribeiro
Texts: João Paulo Cotrim
Design: Susana Cruz
Installation: André Maranha
Support: Junta de Freguesia Parque das Nações, Arranha-Céus

30 setember
Altice Arena, 6pm

Book launch