An everyday gesture – the crossing of a street – re-enabling vision.
Repeated, daily actions become neutral. We look without actually seeing, we pass by without noticing. The specific conscience of the spaces is lost and, with it, the perceptive and sensorial richness of the contact with the world.
Introducing an odd element, even without changing the space itself, a reactivation of perception is proposed, giving experience its value back.
Through this active way of looking, people – as individuals and as a whole – become an actual part of space, its presence become consequent.
Taking the metal prop from its utilitarian features to an artistic-architectonic – interventive – approach, and keeping its firmness and strength nature, this installation takes shape in the covering of a street – the metal prop gives up its unitary values and works as a continuous structure.
In doing so, it offers visibility to places with no impact in Torres Vedras’ historical center – in this case, Rua de Trás do Açougue – and includes them in the inhabitants circuits, giving them a differentiated experience. On the other hand, the presence of unoccupied buildings and poorly conserved facades shows the chosen elements accuracy, bringing up this forgotten reality.
From the scale transition – by decreasing the height along the street, with increasing density – the installation brings more tension and compression to the space, and its shadow – that doubles its rhythm – creates a different relationship with the ground. This way, new experiences are provided to the passersby, encouraging them to rethink the relationship with their everyday spaces.
The ESCORA installation integrated the International Festival of Art in Public Spaces CICLO 2014, that took place on the streets of Torres Vedras' Historical Centre, occupying the street named Trás do Açougue from the 8th to the 11th October 2014.
Special thanks to:
Belgas Constrói Lda.
TUP - Teatro Universitário do Porto