Saco Azul Associação Cultural inaugurated A Longa Sombra, a collective exhibition curated by Horácio Frutuoso. It relied on the participation of himself, Dayana Lucas, Eduardo Fonseca e Silva & Francisca Valador, Fernão Cruz, Henrique Pavão, Lea Managil, Luís Lázaro Matos and Sara Mealha.

Horácio mentions Diogo Seixas Lopes’s book Melancolia e Arquitetura em Aldo Rossi as an initial guide to the thinking process behind the exhibition. The variations in the understanding of the concept of melancholy motivated the choice of the artists: “(…) the praise for melancholy as a device for an acute perception of the world, its mysteries and the perplexity of life, made me quite sensitive to the point of making this element the aggregator of an exhibition”– writes the curator in the exhibition text. The relationship between melancholy and the pandemic context is found in the artist/curator’s reflection. The imposition of reality on the creative process is an element he also worked on in his solo exhibition sage comme une image, at Balcony – Contemporary Art Gallery, presented in October last year.

One of the works presented by Fernão Cruz has a Toys “R” Us label, a yellow sticker able to represent the community identity of this generation’s childhood. The writer Matilde Campilho describes the image of her memories, composed by the creative construction, the description of a real moment and collectible objects – while the collection of memory has become an increasingly sought after and, consequently, materialized need. The power of memory, image and sharing are manifested in the collective memory. Especially in a world scenario that yearns to recover the habits of a recent “yesteryear”, perhaps in collective melancholy. It seems to me that this state of mind is not reflected in a depressive form, but more in a domestic resistance. The work developed with hope, denial, or therapeutic effort comes together in post-lockdown exhibitions that, faced with the desire to share, display works marked by the strength of serenity. The artist who stopped and created, who was artist and curator, and curator and artist.

“These works stir a dialogue with ourselves, they are points of connection or proposal towards our inner selves”– Horacio comments on the works exhibited. A Longa Sombra, a multidisciplinary exhibition with some of the best current artists in Portugal, is on view at Maus Hábitos until May 30.