In the exhibition "Entre As Águas", João Mariano dives into the depths of nature, capturing its mystical essence and the duality between serenity and violence. The show promises to transport visitors to a poetic and introspective universe, where the connection between human and nature is explored in a unique way.

Synopsis

“(…) the stories you tell with these images seem to belong to a cosmic time that doesn’t fit into the vertigo of our everyday time and therefore teach us that the thicknesses of existence are wide and mysterious. You hear the ancestral voices of the water nymphs, the naaids in the fountain and the nereids in the maritime space, as you sensitively touch the faces of unknown deities who live among branches, springs and stones. It’s a book full of poetry and intimacy that dialogues with our human condition.

These images resonate with elves, nymphs and witches emerging from dark, stony beds. Nature is as much a place of peace and pubescent dreams as it is a place of brutality and inhospitable violence. Exploring this work is a real hand-to-hand struggle. Between life and death, all masks and simulacra fall away. The experience of these concrete abstractions transforms nature and the human into a poem that flows perennially. Melancholy, fear and aggression come together with the ecstasy of discovery, warm belonging and the feelings that are projected in the chosen waves of light.”- Ricardo Bento, Photographer and Investigator at CICS.NOVA – Universidade Nova de Lisboa

“(…) This is a project whose initial idea comes from the early days of my photographic existence and whose first, and not very consequential, approach was made during my student days. A few photographs taken for one of my course subjects (…) But which remained there, in a patient latency, for around 30 years. After all this time, and revisiting certain contact documents from that period, I really realized that the stream that rises on the north-west slope of the top of the Serra de Monchique, near Fóia, and flows sinuously and undulating down to Ponta Viva, on Amoreira beach in Aljezur, has always been an emotional reference for me. (…) I’ve walked along its banks and its bed over and over again. (…) Unconsciously, without being able to resist its “water appeal”! Now, with this work, I have scrutinized its soul, gone deep inside and got to know it even more deeply. This is my unique tribute to this zigzagging telluric being filled with water, gravel, sand and rocks, but also with intense sensations, suggestive scenery and eternal ephemera. (…)” - João Mariano

Credits: Supplied Image;

Biography

I live and develop my projects between Aljezur and Lisbon. Actualmente desempenho funções de CEO e director de arte na agência 1000olhos – Imagem e Comunicação – www.1000olhos.pt

Since the end of the last century, I have been developing various projects in the far southwest of Portugal, which have led to the following books and exhibitions:

Guerreiros do Mar (1998);

Lugares Pouco Comuns (2000);

Trabalho_de_Fundo (2001);

Faceless (2003)

Alambiques & Alquimistas (2007);

NEXU (2009)

Mariscadores | Ria de Alvor: histórias de um lugar (2010);

Costa do Mar (2106);

Trezentos e Sessenta e Seis (2018);

ENTRE AS ÁGUAS (2021);

O Conhecido Desconhecido (2023).

In addition to the projects I’ve mentioned above, I’ve developed several other studies and works that have been exhibited and published in Portugal and abroad.

For more information please visit www.lac.org.pt or alternatively, www.joaomariano.com.