Nem Tanto ao Mar Nem Tanto a Terra
(Not So Far at Sea Not So Much in Land) (2009)

Continuing to explore the feminine past-times of my forbears, I weave my way through the family's bottom-drawer lace-work. A reminder of a time when work, science and art were out of the reach of most women, this series wanders the depths of the feminine imagination.

Carrying on the tradition of Anna Atkins cyanotypes and inspired by Haeckel's "Art Forms in Nature", the lace pieces were re-arranged directly on the scanner in sea-like shapes and forms, whilst preserving a sense of three-dimensionality and depth.

Drawing on the naval history of the Portuguese, I re-invent and mythologize on my nationality and the feeling of longing, to which we call saudade. Each artifact can thus be seen as a metaphor of the beloved and the absent.

Nem Tanto ao Mar Nem Tanto a Terra (Not So Far at Sea Not So Much in Land) means neither here or there, but also finding a middle ground. Here it's subverted into a fictional in between space whence to drift.

Technical Specifications:
Scannogram, Lambda Print
Mounted on Aluminium
Variable dimensions
Edition of 7 + 2AP's