Lives between the sea and the land

Setúbal’s fishing communities – one originating in the North, the other in the South of Portugal – and their lives between the sea and the land of the Setúbal peninsula, the Atlantic ocean and the Sado river estuary, lie at the heart of this project.
In organised one-to-one meetings, people shared stories of their lives — stories filled with hardship, poverty, and struggle — as well as their hard work and expertise across various sectors of the fishing industry, including fishing, fish transportation, various production stages of the canning industry, shipbuilding, caulking and repairing. These communities, once flourished and drove the city’s economy, have then experienced a dramatic decline.
Their stories were recorded as audio material. At the end of the meetings, people presented their favourite objects that convey special personal and collective memories related to their lives and work. These objects were then photographed and transformed through painting into works of art.
The 27 paintings, all the same size (30x40 cm), were created for each of these individuals, men and women. For this special occasion, I employed realistic painterly techniques. Each painting was signed and framed. Rather than remaining in my property, they were offered to the members of the communities in a private and deeply moving moment. This gesture — an exceptional act, yet here the only meaningful choice — became the defining element that gave the project its true social character, honouring and paying tribute to the two fishing communities of Setúbal and each of their members, while at the same time giving meaning to the act of giving through art.
The paintings are offered back to us on loan, to give form and meaning to an exhibition at the municipal museum of the city, the Museu de Setúbal / Convento de Jesus, whose identity they have "shaped" in the late 19th and throughout the 20th Century. 

In collaboration with Luís Tibério, researcher and journalist.

The mobility part of the project is supported by Culture Moves Europe, a project funded by the European Union, implemented by the Goethe-Institute.
With the support of Setúbal Municipality, Portugal.