Involvements
At my visit to the Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian in Lisbon yesterday I saw the Tide Line CAM Collection, which brings together work from Portuguese artists around this central theme.
“Tide line is the name given to the mark that appears on the surface of the water where two different sea currents meet. This meeting creates an organic line of foam, with varying degrees of turbulence, which must be crossed with care”.
There were two artists that sparked my curiosity around their work and how they think about their practice.
The first piece was titled Uma floresta para os teus sonhos [A Forest for your Dreams] by Alberto Carneiro (1937-2017). Firstly, I adore how he alluded to the reality of dreams in this selected piece and felt the “need to discover the most archetypical memories at the heart of everyday life”. I too, feel this need and have built in a Creative Dreamwork Practice that is essential to my praxis.
What sparked me was when he said he prefers to use the term involvement rather than installation. I think back to the land based art I did at Joya Art Residency and how the piece that resonated most with me was the one that insisted on being participated with (Images below). I would go down to the site each day, take off the mask, and crawl into the fetus shaped hole to immerse my body in the earth. I felt a need to involve my body in the landscape as a way of healing my own alienation from the natural world and relating more deeply with the spirit of place. So when my fellow artist in residence at Joya AIR sent me a photo today of her and another artist in resident’s involvement with my piece “Inscendence” I was very moved.
The other piece that stood out for me was The First Step by Maria José Oliveira. [Pictured here ~ Raw clay, glass and sponge on cardboard plinth]. Maria started as a ceramicist but extended her art to include drawing, collage, jewellery, sculpture, and installation.
As I work more and more with raw clay, this piece was particularly inspiring. I like how the aesthetic and fragility of the unfired clay creates a sense of vulnerability when taking first steps into unknown terrain.
Below: Site Specific Involvement titled Inscendence. Located at the Parque Natural Sierra María at the eastern end of the Cordillera Subbética.
Jan/Feb 2025
