



In Arcades (Passagens, original, pt) the temporal references are eliminated and the architecture is brought closer to its essence. A path trod with the use of de-focus within the b&w tradition. This synthesis movement is the approach used for the Chiado zone, the “stage”. The “stage” where photographer Joshua Benoliel (1873-1932) photographed and constructed an extraordinary document about Lisbon. A document also about change, about its – Chiado, Lisbon – transition into modernity. Here pertinent questions are raised for the continuation of the Arcades project.
Curator’s words
“[… ] The perception, interpretation and representation of the urban scape, by the early photographers of the XX century, such as Eugéne Atget ( 1857-1927 ) and Brassai ( 1899-1984 ), about Paris, or Joshua Benoliel ( 1873-1932 ), about Lisbon, contribute to the re-construction, in present times, of memories and early physicality, of architecture and urbanism, and of the immateriality of urban life. […] The experience of this place, in Joshua Benoliel’s point of view , demands, first, an immersion in his work, full of modernity and the contemporary, and second, a visitation to the dynamics of XX century Chiado urban life, to comprehend its timeless genius loci, […]
The experience of place through photographing Chiado is proposed to participants of the Photography Workshop conducted by photographer Paulo Catrica, during April 2015. The workshop proposed a contemporary interpretation supported by Joshua Benoliel’s vision, to be curated into the current exhibition, of the resulting work. […]”
Joseph Rodrigues in Chiado – o lugar urbano na contemporaneidade / (re)visitar a perspetiva de Joshua Benoliel, free translation of excepts in the catalogue, Faculdade de Belas Artes de Lisboa, 2015.
Group exhibition. Works by: Alexandre Inglez, Catarina Cabrita, Filipe Gomes, Joana Pimentel, Lizângela Torres, Miguel Ferreira, Miguel Lobo, and Miguel Proença. The exhibition opened at the FBAUL (Faculty Fine Arts, Lisbon) on 05/06/2015.
Prints:
untitled, 2015,“Passagens”(Arcades) series, pigment on paper print, c. 100 x 67cm. series of 5 prints. Available on request.