1 3 5 7 · slide is projected for a long period of time, the image is slowly burned by the light...

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meio concretoAlexandre estrela29 June–29 September 2013

Guided tourS

thursday, 4 July, 18h30by ricardo nicolau

Saturday, 20 July, 16hby ricardo nicolau(exclusive for Amigos de Serralves)

Film ScreeninG / converSAtion with the ArtiSt

Saturday, 14 September, 18h30 (Auditorium)Projection of Viagem ao Meio (Alexandre estrela, 2010)Followed by a conversation between the artist and natxo checa

to avoid flooding, a twelve hundred meter tunnel was excavated through the wall of a volcano in the Azores Archipelago. Viagem ao Meio [Journey to the core] is a piece that presents simultaneously two journeys through the tunnel into the core of the volcano. the first is a camera-less film made through the act of unwinding a six hundred meter reel of unexposed 16 mm positive film, from the centre towards the tunnel’s entrance. the second journey is a two-hour video recording of the passage through the whole tunnel. Both film and video are superimposed on the same screen.

All works on display are courtesy of the artist.

institutional Support exclusive corporate Sponsor of the museum

official insurance Provider: Fidelidade–companhia de Seguros, S.A.

Support: Sugestões & opções–catering de eventos

Fundação de Serralvesrua d. João de castro, 210 4150-417 Porto (Parque: entrada pelo largo d. João iii, junto da escola Francesa)

t 808 200 543e [email protected] www.serralves.pt


Guided tourS












odd dates guide

the exhibition unfolds along two trajectories, in which works are activated depending on whether the date of the visit is even or odd.

4Le Moiré

2Ad nauseam

1Moondog

3Filme mudo

4Le Moiré

2Ad nauseam

1Moondog

3Filme mudo

the limit, causes a profound sensation of nausea.

3Filme mudo, 200716 mm film, b&w, silent, loop

in space there is no sound: this is something that good sci-fi directors know. Filme mudo [Silent film] is a 16 mm film which shows a microphone on a boom pole recording the sound of landscape. no movement is percei-vable on the microphone’s windscreen-cap, since the film was created by shooting a still image. the lack of movement in the image leads to the absence of sound, which results in the creation of a silent film.

4Le Moiré, 2010Video projection, DVD (PAL), glass screen, colour, mono sound, loop100 × 70 cm (projection dimension)

in the film Pour le mistral (1965), filmmaker Joris ivens tries to capture the wind. After the completion of the film, ivens admitted having failed, as he could only register the mistral by recording its side effects.Le Moiré is a new attempt to capture the wind and then to release it, as its image is projected. A video shot in Bretagne of a palm tree ravaged by the wind is projected onto a glass screen painted with white stripes. the piece is installed in a corner so that the projected images form an enclosed area. the glass pane subdivides the projection into two images, thus creating three image surfaces — the glass and the two split images. inside of this concentrated image space, the movement and the sound suggest the formation of wind trapped in a corner. the superimposition of these images crea-tes an optical side effect called ‘moiré’.

1Moondog, 201080 slides, metal screen, CD, Arion Mirage 901 controller82 × 54 × 58.5 cm (projection dimension)

the function of eye blinking is non-existent in most of the blind, due to the reduced sen-s i tivity of their ocular surface. this piece is composed of a diaporama of a single image, a composition of photographs of human and animal eyes with profound cataracts. the milky white inside of the retina approximates the eye with a lunar landscape, evoking a non-reflexive image closed in on itself. the pace of the diapora ma is determined by the rhythm of eye blinking registered in the action of seeing this image for a long period of time.moondog (1916−1999) was a legendary blind American street musician.

2Ad nauseam, 2011Iron sculpture (2 elements), sound 216.9 cm × 50 × 70.6 cm (total)

the image of a digital timex watch (whose digits have been removed) is obliquely pro-jected onto an iron plate sculpture standing on the ground. in the video, the image oscil-la tes in response to a slow and heavy sound. the object/screen is composed of two modules, separated by a narrow vertical slit. the slit introduces a line in the image, whose position of the line diverges from the rotation axis of the watch. on a second plane, the light going through the slit creates an image strip that moves vertically, in opposition to the horizontal movement perceivable at the surface of the object. the slicing of the image and its inclination, as well as the dragged and limp sound induce spatial and temporal disorientation, a con flict that, if pushed to

5Teia

6Aquário

8Fotossíntese

7Waterfall

5Teia

6Aquário

8Fotossíntese

7Waterfall

an acrylic structure, which reflects, div-ides and again projects the images in the neighbouring walls.

7 Waterfall, 2010Video projection, metal screen, colour, mono sound60.2 × 80 × 10 cm (projection dimension)

Waterfall presents a vertiginous low-angle camera shot performed over a series of treetops, accompanied by the sound of a falling water drop. the succession of these sequences develops in the viewer a habi t u -a tion to the psychedelic movement of the images. when the immersive hypno tic move ment comes to a halt, the viewer projects a nonexistent contrary perceptive movement into the still image. this percep tive phenomenon is called the ‘waterfall effect’.

8Fotossíntese, 2007Slide projection on Callintec surface78 × 90 cm (projection dimension)

the starting point of Fotossíntese [Photo syn thesis] is a photograph of a plant stru g g ling to find light. when a single slide is projected for a long period of time, the image is slowly burned by the light bulb of the projector, progressively losing its colour. in Fotossíntese, the image is projected onto a wall behind which a warm surface was installed. this produces the illusion of a warm image that slowly fades, as if deteriorating due to its contact with the wall.

5Teia, 2010CRT monitor, colour, silent, video played on loop back and forward

Teia [web] consists of a video captured in the tropics, which presents a small spider-web knit around a bamboo stalk. the web appears and disappears naturally with the transition created by the passage of a cloud in front of the sun. the web, moving as if in an aquatic environment, reveals a three-dimensional structure inside a two-dimensional image.

6Aquário, 2010Video projection, Plexiglas screen, paper, colour, stereo sound52.5 × 93 × 50 cm Music: Alvin Lucier, Barbecue Grill

A rubber band floats adrift in a fishbowl. the movement of this odd geometric body is accompanied by the sound of pure frequen-cies, punctuated with occasional piano notes. the electronic sound establi shes a sonic illusion which results from the super imposition of two frequencies with contradictory movements — an ascending and a descending frequency (Shepherd’s paradox). to each note played corresponds the appearance of a video frame which intersects the flow of images, visibly inter-fe ring with the rubber band’s geometric contour. when a high note is played, a pos-ter ior frame of the same video momentarily appears on screen, breaking the image flow; conversely, a previous frame is introduced whenever a low note is heard. As the video progresses, the rubber band wanders through the screen, carrying along the drawing or the mark of past and future moments. the video is absorbed by a sheet of paper inserted in

9O som no ar

11O Cobra Verde

10L’Ours

9O som no ar

11O Cobra Verde

10L’Ours

11O Cobra Verde, 2009Single channel video projection, DVD (PAL), colour, stereo sound, 4’40’’Dimensions variable

O Cobra Verde is a long tracking shot along a stretch of two hundred year-old ivy, which crawls horizontally along an iron fence. the plant moves slowly, struggling and eating the metal on its way. the video was recorded in nightshot mode, which emphasizes its dark hue. An uncanny sensation of struggle is enhanced by a primal scream, a guttural sound that summons the effort of centuries. composed by Paul de Jong, it is the sound of a crying newborn, slowed down so that it resembles a gruesome adult voice.

9O som no ar, 2010Video projection, Plexiglas screen, paper, b&w, mono sound104 × 141 × 24 cm (projection dimension)

O som no ar [the sound in the air] is an abstract attempt to visualize bats’ sonar sounds. in the video, the rodents’ echoloca-tion sounds are represented by a network of metal cables. these form an irregular drawing which maps the surface of the acrylic screen, while also being reflected throughout the exhibition space. inside of the acrylic structure there is a sheet of paper which absorbs the projected lines of the video, as if retaining the trace or memory of the mapping process.

10L’Ours, 2003/13Digital video transferred to DVD (PAL), 4:3, colour, stereo sound, loop

Seals are able to recognize polar bears from a distance by identifying the triangle formed by their nose and two eyes. consequently, the bears have developed the habit of hiding their nose with their paws when hunting.in L’Ours, the reflected image of a man bou n ces to the sound of a monotone voice repeating the sentence: ‘You will become the man, who saw the man who saw the man who saw the bear’. From time to time, a polar bear furtively emerges on screen. the bear’s face triangle perfectly fits over three black dots painted on the wall. the triangular structure of the dots crystallizes the image of the bear’s face, which from then on re-mains immanent in the video.

Le Moiré, 2010 (detail), video projection, dvd (PAl), glass screen, colour, mono sound, loop100 × 70 cm (projection dimension)

ted by a similar screen in the process of cutting it in half. A video of a still life compo-sed of a wooden log surrounded by grass (also used in the piece The Overt Statuette) is projected onto the sliced surface. the image slides towards the sharp orthogonal screen, as we hear the sound of a wood saw.

11Um homem entre quatro paredes, 2008Single channel video projection, colour, mono sound, loopDimensions variable

having five dots tattooed on the back of the hand is a common mark among Portuguese inmates which depicts a man between four walls. in this synthetic representation of space, the prisoner, signalled by the central dot, is framed by four similar dots that re-pres ent the four walls of a prison cell. As in the optical illusion of the Kanizsa triangle, the drawing of the four walls is invisible and only evoked by the other four dots/corners. in Um homem entre quatro paredes [A man between four walls] a magnified image of the five-dot tattoo was video-projected onto a wall. the four exterior tattooed dots fit on each of the four existing corners of the wall. the walls of the room physically fill the optical illusion created by the projected tattoo. in the video, the image emerges from an apparent vanishing point, expanding onto the screen surface. when the image touches the surface as the dots reach the corners, a powerful impact sound is heard. the faster the animation grows, the more violent the sound becomes. At the peak of the animation, the prisoner becomes the vanishing point of a deep geometric virtual space. when this moment is achieved, the impact sound becomes continuous, danger-ously interfering with the structure of the building.

Le Moiré, 2010 (detail), video projection, dvd (PAl), glass screen, colour, mono sound, loop100 × 70 cm (projection dimension)

9Flauta, 2010Full HD video projection, colour, mono sound, loop100 × 78 × 15 cm (projection dimension)

A transducer is a device that converts one type of energy into another. Flauta [recorder] is a piece that could fall into this category — a device that, by means of video, translates image impulses into sound. in this piece, a stereoscopic video shows a bamboo stalk vibrating in response to the sound of the wind. this three-dimensional video is projected onto a small wooden struc ture composed of two parallel planes. light flows onto the second screen through a hole punctured in the first screen, which is located in the projected image of the bamboo stalk. the passage of the image through the hole and the consequent light vibration produced in the chamber between the two screens leads to the illusion that sound is being produced live, as if we were in the presence of a musical instrument induced by images.

10Wood Cuts/Wood Rings, 2009 Stereo video projection, colour, sound, loop, wood163 × 187 × 201 (projection dimension)

the size and format conventions observed in film and video screens are similar to those in painting. wide screen formats are often used for landscapes, while vertical formats are better suited for portraits. Square-shaped screens were usually attributed to still lives, a term which translates into Portuguese as ‘naturezas mortas’ [dead natures], a format which itself faces extinction.Wood Cuts/Wood Rings presents a sculpture composed of a 3:4 wooden screen intersec-

7Sistema solar, 2007Single channel video projection, DVD (PAL), colour, stereo sound, 4’Dimensions variable

Sistema solar [Solar system] is based on a scientific communication delivered at Stanford university, in which a researcher explains the translation of solar radiation into sound. the video illustrates the expla n-ation by means of a hypothetical planetary model constituted by three watermelons hanging on a tree. the image is composed of two similar snapshots which, when seen rapidly in succession, generate a stereo-scopic effect, creating a three-dimensional illusion. the watermelons move separately in reaction to the sound, exemplifying three types of solar frequencies. the video pre s-ents itself as a three-dimensional physics model that vibrates responding to the effects of the sun.



9Flauta

10Wood Cuts/Wood Rings

11Um homem entre quatro paredes

9Flauta, 2010Full HD video projection, colour, mono sound, loop100 × 78 × 15 cm (projection dimension)

A transducer is a device that converts one type of energy into another. Flauta [recorder] is a piece that could fall into this category — a device that, by means of video, translates image impulses into sound. in this piece, a stereoscopic video shows a bamboo stalk vibrating in response to the sound of the wind. this three-dimensional video is projected onto a small wooden struc ture composed of two parallel planes. light flows onto the second screen through a hole punctured in the first screen, which is located in the projected image of the bamboo stalk. the passage of the image through the hole and the consequent light vibration produced in the chamber between the two screens leads to the illusion that sound is being produced live, as if we were in the presence of a musical instrument induced by images.

10Wood Cuts/Wood Rings, 2009 Stereo video projection, colour, sound, loop, wood163 × 187 × 201 (projection dimension)

the size and format conventions observed in film and video screens are similar to those in painting. wide screen formats are often used for landscapes, while vertical formats are better suited for portraits. Square-shaped screens were usually attributed to still lives, a term which translates into Portuguese as ‘naturezas mortas’ [dead natures], a format which itself faces extinction.Wood Cuts/Wood Rings presents a sculpture composed of a 3:4 wooden screen intersec-

7Sistema solar, 2007Single channel video projection, DVD (PAL), colour, stereo sound, 4’Dimensions variable

Sistema solar [Solar system] is based on a scientific communication delivered at Stanford university, in which a researcher explains the translation of solar radiation into sound. the video illustrates the expla n-ation by means of a hypothetical planetary model constituted by three watermelons hanging on a tree. the image is composed of two similar snapshots which, when seen rapidly in succession, generate a stereo-scopic effect, creating a three-dimensional illusion. the watermelons move separately in reaction to the sound, exemplifying three types of solar frequencies. the video pre s-ents itself as a three-dimensional physics model that vibrates responding to the effects of the sun.



a building in lisbon witnesses a peculiar phenomenon, in which sunbeams pass through a small hole in a tree, projecting a circle in the façade of the nearest building.the resulting effect is not a reflection, but rather a spontaneous image formed by the intervention of a natural camera lucida. this particular setting offers the ideal conditions for the sun to project an image of itself. like all images produced by means of a camera lucida, this too is an inverted image. in Inversão polar [Polar inversion], this phenomenon was captured in film and reproduced so that the image of the sun is cyclically inverted, thus restoring its original position.

6Antípodas, 2011 2 channel video projection, DVD (NTSC), colour, loop, two 140 cm copper tubes, nylon screen100 × 75 cm (projection dimension)

A canvas roll is vertically suspended between two polished copper tubes. Both of its sides receive a video projection, and each of the projections’ movements complements one another. the title ‘Antípodas’ [Antipodes] locates the images in geographically oppo-site points. they are, however, natural phen-o mena recorded in neighbouring countries: intense tree pollination in Berlin and the formation of foam registered on a beach in Bretagne, which succeed one another in a slow and perpetual movement. the images and their vertical catenation, as well as the synchronism observed between both projec-tions drag the canvas in endless rotation, giving way to the illusion that it is the screen that is moving between two poles/tubes.

4 Teia, 2010CRT monitor, colour, silent, video played on loop back and forward


5 Inversão polar, 201116 mm film, colour, silent, loop Dimensions variable

‘February 15, 2001 — the sun has just undergone an important change. our star’s magnetic field has flipped.the sun’s magnetic north Pole, which was in the northern hemisphere just a few months ago, now points south. it’s a topsy-turvy situation, but not an unexpected one. “this always happens around the time of solar maximum”, says david hathaway, a solar physicist at the marshall Space Flight center. “the magnetic poles exchange pla-ces at the peak of the sunspot cycle. in fact, it’s a good indication that solar max is really here.” the sun’s magnetic poles will remain as they are now, with the north magnetic pole pointing through the sun’s southern hemisphere, until the year 2012 when they will reverse again. this transition happens, as far as we know, at the peak of every 11-year sunspot cycle — like clockwork.’

the Greek word acheiropoietos designates an image which is formed without human intervention. every year, the backyard of

6Antípodas

5Inversão polar

4Teia

8Fotossíntese

7Sistema solar

a building in lisbon witnesses a peculiar phenomenon, in which sunbeams pass through a small hole in a tree, projecting a circle in the façade of the nearest building.the resulting effect is not a reflection, but rather a spontaneous image formed by the intervention of a natural camera lucida. this particular setting offers the ideal conditions for the sun to project an image of itself. like all images produced by means of a camera lucida, this too is an inverted image. in Inversão polar [Polar inversion], this phenomenon was captured in film and reproduced so that the image of the sun is cyclically inverted, thus restoring its original position.

6Antípodas, 2011 2 channel video projection, DVD (NTSC), colour, loop, two 140 cm copper tubes, nylon screen100 × 75 cm (projection dimension)

A canvas roll is vertically suspended between two polished copper tubes. Both of its sides receive a video projection, and each of the projections’ movements complements one another. the title ‘Antípodas’ [Antipodes] locates the images in geographically oppo-site points. they are, however, natural phen-o mena recorded in neighbouring countries: intense tree pollination in Berlin and the formation of foam registered on a beach in Bretagne, which succeed one another in a slow and perpetual movement. the images and their vertical catenation, as well as the synchronism observed between both projec-tions drag the canvas in endless rotation, giving way to the illusion that it is the screen that is moving between two poles/tubes.

4 Teia, 2010CRT monitor, colour, silent, video played on loop back and forward


5 Inversão polar, 201116 mm film, colour, silent, loop Dimensions variable

‘February 15, 2001 — the sun has just undergone an important change. our star’s magnetic field has flipped.the sun’s magnetic north Pole, which was in the northern hemisphere just a few months ago, now points south. it’s a topsy-turvy situation, but not an unexpected one. “this always happens around the time of solar maximum”, says david hathaway, a solar physicist at the marshall Space Flight center. “the magnetic poles exchange pla-ces at the peak of the sunspot cycle. in fact, it’s a good indication that solar max is really here.” the sun’s magnetic poles will remain as they are now, with the north magnetic pole pointing through the sun’s southern hemisphere, until the year 2012 when they will reverse again. this transition happens, as far as we know, at the peak of every 11-year sunspot cycle — like clockwork.’

the Greek word acheiropoietos designates an image which is formed without human intervention. every year, the backyard of



1 Moondog, 201080 slides, metal screen, CD, Arion Mirage 901 controller82 × 54 × 58.5 cm (projection dimension)


2Círculo solar, 2012 Video installation, 16:9 screen, digital video, colour, stereo sound Music: Sun Circle, For Yoshi Wada

A video of epic undertones is projected onto a black suspended screen. the projected image is wider than the screen surface, and it therefore surpasses its limits, framing a rectangular shadow. the screen plays a dual role as an image container and a producer of shadows (which bear the monolith’s pro-portions): something beyond image. in two distinct moments of Círculo solar, the image turns black. the screen emerges then as a monolithic embodiment of a shadow.Círculo solar [Sun circle] retrieves the idea of the screen as a monolith, which had been introduced in Intermission (2006).

3Le Moiré

1Moondog

2Círculo solar



1 Moondog, 201080 slides, metal screen, CD, Arion Mirage 901 controller82 × 54 × 58.5 cm (projection dimension)


2Círculo solar, 2012 Video installation, 16:9 screen, digital video, colour, stereo sound Music: Sun Circle, For Yoshi Wada

A video of epic undertones is projected onto a black suspended screen. the projected image is wider than the screen surface, and it therefore surpasses its limits, framing a rectangular shadow. the screen plays a dual role as an image container and a producer of shadows (which bear the monolith’s pro-portions): something beyond image. in two distinct moments of Círculo solar, the image turns black. the screen emerges then as a monolithic embodiment of a shadow.Círculo solar [Sun circle] retrieves the idea of the screen as a monolith, which had been introduced in Intermission (2006).

even dates guide



Guided tourS












even dates guide


September

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2 46 8 10

12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30

2 46 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28

August

July

June

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