Reflections
by ten Portuguese photographers
Selected, edited and translated by Amanda Hopkinson
Reflections by ten Portuguese photographers accompanies the first major Portuguese photographic exhibition to be seen in Britain, bringing together images in bold contrast to the tourists’ view of Portugal. They cover a wide spectrum of photographic techniques and re-visions, deliberately remote from the familiar world of postcards and calendars, and are accompanied by the photographers’ own reflections on their lives and work, drawn from recent interviews.
Starting with the 1950s street imagery of the ‘godparent of contemporary Portuguese photography, Gérard Castello Lopes, Reflections includes work by many front-runners in succeeding generations: Paulo Nozolino’s grainy northern landscapes; Margarida Dias’ documentation of the fishermen of Peniche; Luísa Ferreira’s manipulated polaroids of the changing waterfront of Lisbon harbour; Carlos Guarita’s reportage on the syncretic pagan/Catholic festivals of the interior; Mariano Piçarra’s repeat transformations of the same sites by day and night; Pedro Baptista and Henrique Seruca on the Arab quarter of Alfama; and Lucia Vasconcelos and Clara Azevedo on ancient spas and grand hotels.
Published by Frontline with Portugal 600, 1996
128 pages, paperback, ISBN 1 873639 05 8, £12.99