a blog about photography by Sofia Silva
It’s been a relatively organic process the way this blog has step into a coma. It’s not dead, nor am I thinking about killing it, since Nihilsentimentalgia works as a memory replacement: if I can’t remember the name of this or that author, I can always find her/him here, for I never forget the images…
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It’s obviously a discussion on the agenda and Portugal isn’t an exception. Some recent events moved me to write this post. So, first, a personal note about the image presented above: I’ve been preparing a workshop that addresses the political clima. You can say it’s an artivism workshop, but I prefer to see it as…
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About a year and a half ago, I was invited by Recyclart – thru Vincen Beekman – to write about one of their community projects. It was a bit of an ethical dilemma, but I accepted, though I kept thinking Why am I looking at these images? The paragraph bellow, from the text published –…
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caption (image above): A photograph from Alphonse Bertillon’s photo album from his exhibition at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Mental Illness and depression, in particular, have been the talk of the month, given that the confinement has sparked new conversations about social interaction, human kindness and wellbeing and, of course, the lack of…
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As another academic year approaches the finish line, I’m again inclined to reflect on what happened and what could be done differently, from hereon. However, as we all know, this was not just “another” school year. Now that my online classes finally came to an end and I’m fully back at regular classes with all…
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What this pandemic is exposing about the “art world” in Portugal is not surprising. However, seeing it all out in the daylight and under such a condensed time-frame is somewhat mind-blowing. I’ll try not to go into specific problems being discussed here, for I feel most of the episodes that have led to this text…
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Christine Elfman‘s website can be seen here.
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Cecile Perra‘s website can be seen here.
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Frank Robert’s website here.
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Jennifer Niederhauser Schlup’s website here.
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THE MAN COMES AROUND 2015- The Man Comes Around explores a crucial turning point in the history of humanity; a point where climate change, overpopulation and a rapid decline in biodiversity threaten the whole of Western civilization. In the photographs of Hurskainen, this crisis comes to be represented by the ageing, white heterosexual male, a man…
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Shelli Weiler’s website here.
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Cris Bierranbach’s website here.
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Liz Steketee’s website here.
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Caption (image above): untitled, Sofia Silva. From time to time I go back to this issue. It’s inevitable. With no surprise, the modern art world (at least what is made visible) has always been contaminated by the capitalist relationships that structure our societal living. This month, I came across some events, news and debates about…
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Caption (image above): Agfa Optima Sensor Electronic (1982). When I picked up the camera again, in 2018 – after a troubled period regarding my relationship with photographic equipment, in general, and cameras in particular -, I bought some easy going cameras: light, simple, with built-in flash. My first purchase was an Agfa Optima Sensor Electronic,…
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Caption (image above): © Lianne Milton, portrait of Juliana Marinho, 25, owner of AfroAtitude salon, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ‘White Brazilians are uncomfortable with the ascension of the black woman. I own my business and I’m a business owner. And they don’t believe it. My salon tries to transcend. There were no options before. It…
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I’ve been thinking about this documentary – Jonestown: Terror in the Jungle – ever since I saw it a couple of weeks ago. Some images just got stuck in my mind. Writing about it seemed like a natural thing to do, but I guess it took some time to digest it and today, while listening…
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I’ve kept diaries since I was 12 and for some time now I’ve been trying to gather them all. Some are definitely missing: some might have been gifted, some might have gotten lost and some I’ve destroyed. Anyway, for therapeutically reasons and to help guide what I’m working with now (in terms of image-making), I’ve…
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A couple of weeks ago I joined some colleagues of the university I teach at to present work to our students. It’s an annual event, created by the director of the course with the intent of allowing professors to share their own experience with the process of image-making and research in the visual field (something…
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N I H I L S E N T I M E N T A L G I A, 