joão leal artwork

© joão leal

Built with Berta.me

1. Experience of Place

   The use of sound and of the long-take are seen as symbolic elements referring to my origins and to the journey undertaken with the PhD process. This long walk started before the undertaking of the research project. The film starts with an empty scene and only the purifying sound of water. The aspect ratio is square, giving a very restricted view of the surrounding environment. Then, when the sound of a loom starts, the aspect ratio starts to change, opening up until it reaches a 16:9 ratio. The sound of the loom is related to the area of the country where I lived since my birth until I went to the university: Vila das Aves. It is traditionally linked to the textile industry and both my parents worked all their lives there. The loom starts to sound just before the character appears, suggesting that he was woven into existence. When the character appears, he has a cotton waste coat covering his body. When he starts walking the path the only audible sounds are the ones coming from a river and birds, the ones that dominated the soundscape of this area. All the sounds were recorded in foley[1], after the image was shot, so the soundscape was completely constructed. The sound of the footsteps is constant throughout the film, to enhance the walking. As the film evolves, and the character goes from a landscape dominated by trees into one where the river is more present, the soundscape shifts. When the character is walking closer to a train line that passes near the pathway, it is possible to listen to a train passing by. This is a reference to my grandparent’s grocery store, that was in front of the train line, a few meters away from the train station. When me and my brother were little my parents used to put us in a small children’s park, in the shop window, so that they could work. We could see and listen to the trains all day. The walk continues until it reaches a turning point. The character turns to the right, but when the camera turns to continue following him, the character has disappeared. This ironically symbolizes the end of the PhD process, suggesting that the character ceases to exist after he finishes the walk.

   The film was always shown without the above explanation, one that is only relevant in the academic context, because otherwise, it would narrow the work into the author’s perspective. Without this context, the film has no visible narrative; the images, sounds and objects don’t have a clear starting point. It is not discernible if the things we can see and hear were triggered by something or even if they will lead to anything. However, Experience of Place has implicit elements that are present in the previously studied definitions of narrative:

   _ “events” and “actors”: in this case an “actor”, the author, that with this experience of a place that is familiar to him, undertakes a route with an indiscernible beginning or end;

   _ the intervention of elements (human or not) which cause, relate or develop the "actions": in particular, a human element going through a path that passes through several points that are related to the author and to the past and present of that place;

   _ the use of “vehicles” that allow the proliferation of narratives: these specific images and sounds might not “transport” a narrative, but they hardly won’t suggest one or several.

   This series includes a sixteen minute (long take) high definition video (1920x1080) with stereo sound, eleven prints on textile fabric and an installation with the coat made from cotton waste used in the film and ten kilograms of cotton waste.

   [1] Recreation of sound effects for film, after the image was shot.

   //

   Video HD 1920x1080 | 16' (long take) | Stereo sound (full version)

   9 photographs, Mtex print in alluminium structure, 125x166cm

   2 photographs, Mtex print in alluminium structure, 130x97,5cm

   Cotton waste coat & ten kilograms of cotton waste

2. 

   Untitled, Mtex print in alluminium structure, 125x166cm

   

   Untitled, Mtex print in alluminium structure, 125x166cm

   

   Untitled, Mtex print in alluminium structure, 125x166cm

   

   Untitled, Mtex print in alluminium structure, 125x166cm

   

   Untitled, Mtex print in alluminium structure, 130x97,5cm

   

   Instalação - Fábrica de Santo Thirso, Santo Tirso, Portugal

   Instalation view - Santo Thirso Factory, Santo Tirso, Portugal

   

   Instalação - Fábrica de Santo Thirso, Santo Tirso, Portugal

   Instalation view - Santo Thirso Factory, Santo Tirso, Portugal

   

   Instalação - Guimarães, Portugal

   Instalation view - Guimarães, Portugal

   

   Instalação - Guimarães, Portugal

   Instalation view - Guimarães, Portugal

   • 1

     Untitled, Mtex print in alluminium structure, 125x166cm

   • 2

     Untitled, Mtex print in alluminium structure, 125x166cm

   • 3

     Untitled, Mtex print in alluminium structure, 125x166cm

   • 4

     Untitled, Mtex print in alluminium structure, 125x166cm

   • 5

     Untitled, Mtex print in alluminium structure, 130x97,5cm

   • 6

     Instalação - Fábrica de Santo Thirso, Santo Tirso, Portugal

     Instalation view - Santo Thirso Factory, Santo Tirso, Portugal

   • 7

     Instalação - Fábrica de Santo Thirso, Santo Tirso, Portugal

     Instalation view - Santo Thirso Factory, Santo Tirso, Portugal

   • 8

     Instalação - Guimarães, Portugal

     Instalation view - Guimarães, Portugal

   • 9

     Instalação - Guimarães, Portugal

     Instalation view - Guimarães, Portugal