“Future Past”
Exhibition by Maria Renée Morales Lam
Curated by João Moniz
Convent of Espírito Santo Art Gallery, Loulé
opening 17 december 18h00
Does the street become more mine the more I observe it and the more I use it?
The work of Maria Renée Morales Lam presents a physical-material and imaginary journey through the city, showing evidence of an intimate relationship between the past and matter, where the function of the artifact is diluted in the act of contemplation.
Architectural components are compiled as samples of a public memory underlying a collective imaginary that, without realizing it, we forcefully distort.
The older work invites us to reflect on the way in which history is being preserved – what we choose to protect or forget, and how this influences the construction and accelerated transformation of the contemporary city.
In his most recent work, he tries to exalt the presence and corporeality of city ornaments forgotten in everyday life.
“As an incessant effort to belong somewhere, I draw an invisible map of my daily path, reformulating these symbols that represent moments, objects, places and situations, in an attempt to reconcile my own history in a territory that until recently was unknown. More than an imposed reality, I look at the city as an invitation to imagine a heterotopic future, which proposes us to rely on matter to find places not yet inhabited by memory. “ says the artist.
“The place is a porous, open, hybrid meeting point.” [Massey, 1999: p.152]
December 17, 2022 to January 28, 2023
tuesday to saturday
10:00 am to 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm to 6:00 pm