General Sadness
A photo documentation of an ongoing project consisting of a series of interventions carried out in various natural locations, using clay as the primary material. Each intervention is accompanied by a poem. I Portugal 2024
Today is my birthday
Today is my birthday
It is my second time here
Yesterday I thought I would never be able to do something
Here where the nature is too perfect
I will never be able to fight against it
And will lose
Today I said I would just go and walk there
After three hours of walking freed from any thought
I stood on one rock and just started
I am done
I think I made many cakes
Maybe for all the people that I want to be with and celebrate this day
Perhaps it is just a gift to this landscape
I can’t know
I am happy to be alone today
I feel relieved
I cried
I went to the ocean, dried myself and walked away
***
It is midday
I need to go back to return my bike and meet Inês
São Martinho
I said a prayer
For her to survive
To take the energy
I felt light, relieved
It was so heavy to carry the clay
On the back
I am so happy
I can start to cry
Nobody noticed it happening
Except for one woman
Who said it was nice, in Portuguese
She went to her tent saying to her husband that
There was one young lady next to them making something with clay
She said to him not to watch
I went to the other side of the fence
Nobody noticing anything
After a while a man stepped out
He watched for quite long
And went back
I was still there on the other side
Happy. Unable to move
I was thinking whether to take the object with me or better to leave it
I struggled for some time
Unable to answer to myself
A woman stepped out again to check if I was still there
She saw me and went back to her tent
I knew.
I should leave it.
And I went.
***
I waited for the bus.
Mariana touched me gently and said Hi
I needed some time to get back to reality
It took me long to say Hi and she was already almost gone
I quickly said See you tomorrow
