A ride through the vast unknown (Nihilsentimentalgia’s Early Years)
What happens inside our homes, in the domestic environment, is something that truly fascinates me, particularly when considering how that intimate environment can be brought into the public sphere, with integrity and respect. In the first months of Nihilsentimentalgia that … Continue reading A ride through the vast unknown (Nihilsentimentalgia’s Early Years)
Billingham and the phantom of the golden years (Nihilsentimentalgia’s Early Years)
Dating from mid 90’s, Richard Billingham‘s project Ray’s a Laugh is still a reference to me and I always show it to students whenever we address … Continue reading Billingham and the phantom of the golden years (Nihilsentimentalgia’s Early Years)
Phototherapy and the idea of truth (Nihilsentimentalgia’s Early Years)
As Nihilsentimentalgia’s early readers know well, at the core of this platform is an interest for the idea of phototherapy and, consequently, different approaches to the idea of self. Throughout the years, I’ve done my experiments using photography as a … Continue reading Phototherapy and the idea of truth (Nihilsentimentalgia’s Early Years)
Intimacy, after Malerie Marder (Nihilsentimentalgia’s Early Years)
One of my earliest posts featured a couple of photographs by Malerie Marder and ten years later I am very surprised to go through her work and see that she has been seriously addressing intimacy, not only thematically, as core object of … Continue reading Intimacy, after Malerie Marder (Nihilsentimentalgia’s Early Years)
Ten years of Nihilsentimentalgia, by Robin Cracknell
Throughout this year, I’ll be publishing reader’s posts. To start, here is an article by one of Nihilsentimentalgia’s dearest readers: Robin Cracknell. When I first discovered Nihilsentimentalgia, I was a very different person. I had just had my first … Continue reading Ten years of Nihilsentimentalgia, by Robin Cracknell
The body aches (Nihilsentimentalgia’s Early Years)
Some of my early posts were about the body (its modification, mutilation and sexual dimension). At the time I did a lot of performative photography and … Continue reading The body aches (Nihilsentimentalgia’s Early Years)
Polidori’s traces (Nihilsentimentalgia’s Early Years)
In June a decade will have passed since I first started Nihilsentimentalgia, so I thought for the next few months I could make an effort to … Continue reading Polidori’s traces (Nihilsentimentalgia’s Early Years)
Cindy Steiler: (re)creating with thread
Bellow Cindy Steiler‘s words: My favorite childhood memories center on spending time with my great-grandmother, Mary Steiler. She taught me to sew, quilt and embroider, all … Continue reading Cindy Steiler: (re)creating with thread
Here’s what pornography looks like
Yesterday, a friend told me that to avoid a cynic approach to life, you just had to choose to live it. I couldn’t agree more. On the other hand, every year, when the world press photo nominees start to invade … Continue reading Here’s what pornography looks like
Lana Mesić: untold stories
Thinking about photography inevitably makes us wonder what is consider truthful. Fiction is not only part of art (and truth); it is perhaps the privileged space … Continue reading Lana Mesić: untold stories
Phototherapy and the agency of Terika Haapoja
Some years ago, while attending a PhD class, I was introduced to the artwork of Terike Haapoja and the impact of that encounter led me to a post here. Last year, I ended up having a conversation with that same … Continue reading Phototherapy and the agency of Terika Haapoja
Spectrum and the repetitive metastasis
I’d like to say the separation of the arts according to the specifications of the medium is a thing of the past, but is it? The multidisciplinary artists who graduated from the academy often see their works labeled as “installations” … Continue reading Spectrum and the repetitive metastasis
Propeller’s second open call is now OPEN
For our second edition, we chose to address the idea of fiction: (fictĭō, fictiōnis) Modeling, shaping, creation; Act or effect of faking, imaginary thing, fantasy; Fable, … Continue reading Propeller’s second open call is now OPEN
Simulacra after death and the art of Cig Harvey
When one is constantly batteling death or other destructive forces, it all seems very transient and it can be very easy to experience happiness, for every … Continue reading Simulacra after death and the art of Cig Harvey
Intimacy, ‘Extimacy’ and the art of Joanna Piotrowska
In chapter XI (Courtly love as anamorphosis) of Lacan‘s Seminar VII (The Ethics of Psychoanalysis), Lacan suggests the term “extimacy” (extimité) to talk about the “intimate exteriority” that is at the core of the Thing. The Thing (das Ding) is a concept … Continue reading Intimacy, ‘Extimacy’ and the art of Joanna Piotrowska
One year of Propeller
I cannot trace this back to its origins, but I remember reading an interview by someone who started a magazine about artistic content saying you had … Continue reading One year of Propeller
Why the past legitimates the present (retromania and the ‘nostalgising effect’)
The misguided parallel between spontaneity and authenticity is often mentioned here. We, in general (and students in particular), not knowing how to address the issues of photographic representation, tend to evoke “spontaneity”, “purity”, “genuineness”, “naturalness”, etc. to qualify the truthfulness … Continue reading Why the past legitimates the present (retromania and the ‘nostalgising effect’)
The Supreme Mother Nature and the fucking state of the art
Nature often makes us question whether we deserve her generosity. She’s so marvelous, so compassionate, so warming… Yes, she can also be deceiving and violent, but that’s what makes her so sublime. The fact that in this country, always socially … Continue reading The Supreme Mother Nature and the fucking state of the art
Nebreda: my everlasting love
David Nebreda’s work changed my life. It’s no mystery. I remember the first time I encountered his photographs (or they encountered me): it was in a … Continue reading Nebreda: my everlasting love
Reality → → → → → → → Intimacy ← ← ← ← ← ← ← Visibility
As is becoming ever more often, another student’s work sets ground @ Nihilsentimentalgia. Carlos was my student for the past year and the selection of work … Continue reading Reality → → → → → → → Intimacy ← ← ← ← ← ← ← Visibility
Popova by Morrison: ‘objective social’ what?
When I come across artists that lack ethics or artworks that scream opportunism I get very irritated, sometimes even a bit angry. Often the art world is just so perverse that I wish I didn’t know about that artist or … Continue reading Popova by Morrison: ‘objective social’ what?
A critic of no critic or how ‘Vernadsky Station’ exists beyond criticism
How does art critic work in other countries? I don’t know. In Portugal, it’s changing. The online magazines and blogs have created platforms where different people … Continue reading A critic of no critic or how ‘Vernadsky Station’ exists beyond criticism
Photo Requests from Solitary: this could have been so beautiful…
I came across this project while reading Pete Brook‘s Prison Photography, one of my favorite blogs out there. Photo Requests from Solitary became part of a larger project, but was initially founded by Tamms Year Ten, a grassroots coalition of artists, advocates, family … Continue reading Photo Requests from Solitary: this could have been so beautiful…
Colour #4: Paula Riff
The first group of images featured below is part of a project entitled What’s love got to do with it. Here’s Paula Riff‘s statement about that … Continue reading Colour #4: Paula Riff
Iñigo Sánchez: loving the subject and its other
I met Iñigo Sánchez‘s work because he was part of Hélice‘s comprehensive training program 2016/2017. Hélice’s team is the one behind Propeller, the magazine I became involved with, and it was just a matter of days before I ended up … Continue reading Iñigo Sánchez: loving the subject and its other
Screening men as objects of desire
The biggest problem I see in addressing the question of the objectification of men (or the representation of men as objects of desire) is that we can’t really avoid comparing it to the objectification of women and that is such … Continue reading Screening men as objects of desire
Colour #3: Aleksandra Vajd
All that is to know about Aleksandra Vajd’s project “Friends of friends are friends” (featured below) can be find in a text by Laura Amann, here. … Continue reading Colour #3: Aleksandra Vajd
What if Maud had a camera?
Maud Dowley (1903-1970) was a Canadian artist, from Nova Scotia, who lived a harsh life (in part due to her suffering from rheumatoid arthritis). She dedicated … Continue reading What if Maud had a camera?
Colour #2: Sanne de Wilde
What’s wrong with a purple sun? It’s been challenging to write about Belgian photographer Sanne de Wilde‘s The Island of the Colorblind. I mentioned the project here once before, but at the time the book was about to be published (by … Continue reading Colour #2: Sanne de Wilde
Colour #1: Akihiko Miyoshi
Here is a selection of Akihiko Miyoshi’s profound, complex and beautifully coloured work. Photography’s impulse to depict in its most utilitarian tendencies (for example photo-journalism as … Continue reading Colour #1: Akihiko Miyoshi
