Collapse

With an artistic practice spanning performance, video, photography and digital media, Silvestre Pestana creates a body of work in which poetry transcends the written word. The body as language, the moving image, and early computers are the focus of his investigations, where art and technology intersect as both a formal field and a space for critical reflection on the social transformations brought about by technical progress.

In Collapse, the artist presents an installation designed for the Galeria Municipal do Porto that choreographs light, architecture and language. Returning to the LED as both an emitting device and a cultural signifier, Pestana explores its apparent obsolescence as a metaphor for ruin and technological excess. The piece evokes the urban landscape through visual and textual symbols, incorporating echoes of previous works and ideas about new poetic possibilities. Balancing invention and criticism, Pestana reaffirms the value of experimental poetry as a means of questioning the present day and our relationship with technology’s promises and pitfalls.

Photography: Dinis Santos