Luar
Winning project - Ephemeral art installation in public space
Land Art Festival - Sever dou Vouga, Portugal, September 2021
Steel, exterior curtains
5m diameter
Situated on the site of a former railway tunnel, this moon-like structure at the entrance is not what it appears to be, inviting those who pass by to contemplate its threshold. Just as there are multiple phases of the moon, traversing a tunnel is, both physically and metaphorically, a journey from one state to another. Thus, the artwork accompanies the visitor inside the tunnel.
This red circle may evoke a traffic sign or a signal light for trains that once passed through here. However, if these signals are prohibitive, the materiality and lightness of the ribbon-like circle invite entry. Thus, the ribbons, resembling vegetation cascading at the tunnel's entrance, are actually curtains commonly found on the doors of Portuguese houses. We also wanted to integrate an everyday element into the material composition of the artwork, allowing an ordinary object to gain an extraordinary dimension outside its usual context.
The color red has also been one of the earliest used by humans in cave paintings, and just as humanity threatens the green of nature in our modern era, we hope this encourages people to see the landscape in a different light.
