Calmer Now; Wings Soar, Stems Grow (2023)
Installation / ceramic / performance / concert
GAAT Gallery. Lisbon, Portugal

Hold
Clay from plaster moulds and an array of endemic Sintra plants. Variable dimensions

Blessing
Canvas, silk fabric, chicken foot, needle, thread. Variable dimensions

Untitled Objects
Shells, hemp fibre, sardine spine, wild oregano, squash, wax candle, If I were a Fish poem on paper 

I invited Zarya Austin-Fell to collaborate on this exhibition, merging our practices across installation, performance, image, and music. Conceived through a residency-like approach, the project unfolded in dialogue with Lisbon’s culture and dramatic surroundings, drawing our attention to birds, the ocean, and forests, as well as the region’s lingering atmosphere of melancholy. We spent a week in the village of Almoçageme creating plaster casts of our bodies to mold clay vessels, which we filled with foraged plants, remnants, shells, and bones from what we consumed. These materials reflected the fragility of the natural environment and transformed the gallery space into a domestic, lived-in setting—a physical diary of our time in Sintra. The exhibition was activated by a concert and remained on view, foregrounding the passage of time through the traces left behind.

Photography: Gaat Museum and Pedro Covas