Orla  + Aerolit0
[sea's edge + aerolite]

2023

Orla (2023) is developed as a continuity of the project Desenho natural. A água flui na linha.

Composed of a series of fragments of slate stones collected on the beaches of Esposende (Portugal), Orla is based on an exercise of attention, from the recognition of forms shaped by the sea and the wind, to the perception of the long time that gave rise to them. The inscribed gesture seeks a place among these marks, choosing for that purpose the simple gesture of the line and the repetition (accumulation) of its instabilities, seeking an encounter between the pre-existent natural lines and the drawn lines, recognizing the potential fragility of both. The ephemerality of the gesture (reversible and easily erasable), follows a conscious choice not to incise, not to destroy the surface, but rather a sensitive relationship with what is already there. It is a gesture that is deposited, just like the limestone that gave rise to the chalk used (of marine sedimentary origin). In addition to the symbolic and material relationship, chalk adds another layer of relationship by referring to learning methods, replacing the training of abstract character forms (already disconnected from the natural forms that gave rise to them - David Abram), by a contact with the natural lines.

 

Additionally, the line acts as a kind of threshold: between natural line and drawn line, between drawing and calligraphy, between natural process and cultural language.

​

This work was conceived especially for the exhibition onde os olhos não tocam [where the eyes do not touch], with works by Juliana Matsumura and Rosanna Bach, curated by Leonor Carrilho. [read the curatorial text here]