Waiting for you in the fog
by João Salgueiro Baptista
ABOUT THE PROJECT
This project started while I was back at my childhood home taking care of my grandfather Amadeu, during a period my grandmother Maria was at the hospital. This happened back in February. I started documenting daily routines and details from the house and I was going for early walks nearby. The atmosphere of uncertainty regarding the return of my grandmother and all the emotions surrounding that gave me the idea of pursuing these themes and photographing them, in order to understand and digest them.
She finally recovered and I went back to my everyday life. But some months later, one morning I woke up to the reality that she has passed away - painlessly, silently and as in the words of my grandfather " she went as a dying bird". Everything had changed, and I could no longer photograph her. I have finally been struck by death at the heart of my existence. All that survives are the photographs that I took, and on her funeral I didn't dare to take any.
Since then the series gained a new dimension. My life has changed, my grandfather's house that was once built and organized for them both is different, my grandfather is not the same anymore. He no longer cares for the pigeons, and now I am the one who takes care of the flowers and the garden.
"To start of I stumbled on photography. I studied sculpture on a fine arts bachelor course and I had a class that introduced me to the darkroom and the intricacies of analog photography. Even though I had poor results at the time, the magic thing that lives in the photographic medium stayed. During the following years, I gave it more and more focus, and it is now my main artistic means of expression. Photography is able to do something that sculpture did not for me, it captures and it returns itself to the captured. This gesture gave me both pleasure and a sense of purpose. To search for beauty in anything and anyone that surrounded me and to be able to give it back to them later, this is a simple gesture with deep meaning to me.
It’s a way of looking, of thought and of existence. Through photography I analyse deeply what is in front of me in all its layers, and it is a process that I could never stop doing. Even without a camera, the photographic process is happening."
https://joaosalgueirobaptista.com/
JOAO BAPTISTA & PEP
With his work "Allegro ma non troppo", João Salgueiro Baptista participated in the PEP exhibition "New Talents 2021":
“This photograph is part of a series called “Allegro ma non Troppo”, from 2021, which explores the concept of a classical music andamento as the partition for a series of images. From this idea of pace and rhytmic passing of time, various images such as this one are presented. Vinculated to their conceptual fundamentals and charateristics such as their contrast and distinctive light. It is the starting point as a metaphor and allegory for a reflection upon life and existence. These photographs are described as silent and meditative. The photographic artifact is no longer representing just what is in front of the objective, but is aiming to reach through it, the abstract and both metaphysical and spiritual qualities. It is a search for transcendence and beauty in times where photography and the production and dissemination of images was never so exponential. The overlapping of these palm tree leaves and that light, struck me as one of those moments worth the attempt to photograph. It was taken in São Miguel, Azores in 2021. “
"Allegro ma non troppo" by João Salgueiro Baptista, from the PEP exhibition "New Talents 2021"