Galeria Municipal do Porto

"Feelings. Where are my feelings? Asks the voice of non-human souls, ululating in invisible sound waves, travelling on the back of the wind. If we could reach the hidden places in the shadowy recesses of nature, we would hear this voice at its fullest, we would realise that such sounds are only created in the warmth of life, which vibrates softly. When I think of that voice, I hold my breath so that not even the air entering my lungs distracts me from it and the metallic sounds that come wrapped in the dense, soft silk of that timbre. Crisálida is the character who advocates this presence, who serves as a channel for transmitting, connecting and creating these sparks of sound that fall on our heads every time we hear her open up, that is, when we hear and see her perform. Her melodies reach deep inside us and ask us to remember the childlike bravery with which we used to play childish games that took us to the embryonic hiding places in our grandparents' garden. In this movement of closing our eyes, we see the most beautiful colours drawing on our eyelids and we hear the voice of non-human souls, which is the sound of the movement of wise butterflies, iridescent chrysalises that evoke the presence of the earth, the humid atmosphere of what is not in the sun, the aerial vibration of the wind and all our most original thoughts: this is the effect of this chrysalis on me. Its movement is circular, it hypnotises us and lulls us into a musical cadence that gives us back the emotional lightness present in the eighties song tradition of French electro-pop and the subtle mystery of the snow-capped peaks of Badalamenti."

 

Francisca Sousa Soares

The publication Gineceu&Estigma is the result of the programme of the same name, an axis of knowledge and mediation based on the Botany of the Gardens of the Palácio de Cristal, as part of ping! - Programa de Incursão à Galeria, an educational project of the Galeria Municipal do Porto. The contributions collected here, as well as the activities that have been presented over time, show different ways of establishing fairer relationships and approaches to the natural world. This book is not just a memoir, but an extension of a project that is constantly expanding and developing. Divided into four chapters - Especulações Botânicas, Micorrizas, Hackers&PANCs and Terrários - it shows an eco-thinking that runs through both theoretical reflection and practical educational actions, through workshops, essays, lectures and interpretive routes.

 

To celebrate the fourth anniversary of Gineceu&Estigma, the launching day will take place on February 7nd, with the participation of Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida, author of A Visão das Plantas, and Paulo Pires do Vale, philosopher and commissioner of the National Arts Plan, and Matilde Seabra, coordinator of ping!, for a conversation about the relationship between human life and nature.

In the context of the public programme for Jonathan Uliel Saldanha's "Surface Disorder", Galeria Municipal do Porto presents Nsasi, a musical artist who brings us the undergroung echos of Uganda. 

 

Their sound combines traditional rhythms and sound palettes with the universe of ultra-modern and disruptive music. Their acoustic cosmos is recognised by the ability to alternate contrasting sounds, carrying listeners on a journey through different times and genres. The result is a dynamic landscape where acid beats collide with Kiganda percussion and East African rhythms. 

 

This "Enfant Terrible" from the picturesque and deeply conservative town of Jinja, Uganda, gained an early reputation for questioning norms, developing subversive DJ sets, between slowed-down dance anthems, glossy R&b's and dynamic experiences in fringe clubs.