UMBIGO invited several artists to reflect on the era we are living in and to think about their artistic production in quarantine times.

Project by the artist Alexandre Delmar.

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Alexandre Delmar, PARDO, March, April and May 2020. Location: Esposende

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If we analyze the pre-agrarian stage of human history, we notice that the spread of infectious diseases had little success, because the recollect life forced nomadism. The constant displacement prevented the establishment of the disease. Today, in a pandemic context, we are closed in our homes, mainly in cities, which are centres of contamination.

Bodies are mechanisms for the spread of the disease. When there is no cure or vaccine, anxiety grows and emerging solutions of protection are accepted.

The photographic project PARDO was born in this uncertain situation. Geographically limited by the authority to my area of residence, I wanted to approach absence, isolation and self-isolation, questioning the new spatial relationships, strategies for physical distance and possible tools for survival.

“Modus operandi: They left the door open. From the beginning, and until the end of the forced confinement, I leave at dawn to check for tides, wind and the undead. In the dark, everything is grey, but I promise not to rip up your garbage bags looking for leftovers. In the dark, it’s normal not to distinguish things well.”