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Eyes on You: Maria Peixoto Martins and the non-limits of photography

A set of twenty-eight photographic works that invite the public to immerse themselves in a deep reflection on the concepts of surveillance and privacy in the digital age.

Eyes on you starts from a single photograph, captured in an unidentified space, where the presence of security agents, x-ray machines and video surveillance cameras create a palpable climate of tension. This initial image serves as the starting point for a detailed and multifaceted exploration, through which the artist, Maria Peixoto Martins, unveils the layers of meaning that permeate our relationship with surveillance in the contemporary world.

In a context where privacy is becoming increasingly scarce, we are constantly monitored by a relentless system that observes our every move, every word and every interaction. The artist invites us to question to what extent this constant surveillance is really necessary and what impact it has on our individual freedom and the construction of our identity.

Surveillance is not just limited to authority figures. On social media, we become agents of our own surveillance, carefully curating our online image and controlling our behaviour to meet the expectations of others. This constant self-surveillance can be exhausting and generate anxiety and insecurity. Eyes on You becomes an extended concept, looking out for all eyes, even our own. Big Brother is watching you.

Using deconstruction techniques such as crops, zooms and pixelisation, the artist fragments the original photograph, revealing new details and nuances that often go unnoticed. This fragmentation challenges our perception of reality, inviting us to question the verisimilitude of the images we consume on a daily basis.

Eyes on You does not offer easy answers to the complex questions it raises. Instead, it invites the public to reflect deeply on the challenges we face in an increasingly surveilled world.

A master of weaving narrative and visual form, the artist is driven by a passion for storytelling. Recognising the power of photography as an artistic medium, Maria Peixoto Martins nevertheless tests its limits. Her exploration of tools such as contrast, space and repetition offer a new perspective on photography as a medium, by exhausting the image aesthetically and challenging preconceived notions about the use and abuse of the medium itself. This work invites viewers to reconsider the concept of photography, inspiring new paths for dialogue.

The exhibition can be visited at the Ponte de Sor Arts and Culture Centre until 15 June 2024.

A Fine Arts graduate from the University of Lisbon, with one foot in London and her heart in Lisbon, she currently works in an art gallery in the United Kingdom. After going through the fashion world, she has revised her major interest in art. She is co-founder of Coletivo Corrente de Ar, which focuses on promoting emerging artists and democratising Contemporary Art. Her work is developed around curation, art consultancy and writing.

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