photography

this exhibition was curated by filipa oliveira and susana mendes silva.

pact (pacto) was an exhibition born from an invitation extended by filipa oliveira to susana mendes silva following the performance “mariana,” which delved into her research at the regional museum of beja on the “portuguese letters.” the issue of authorship, as the “letters” were never unanimously attributed to mariana alcoforado, emerges as a central question once again in 1972 with “new portuguese letters” by maria isabel barreno, maria teresa horta, and maria velho da costa. as a strategy of resistance, the authors never disclosed who wrote which parts of the book.
the publication and subsequent banning of the book, its stage adaptations, and the international outcry over the arrest of the authors exposed to the world the existence of extremely discriminatory dictatorial repression and the power of the catholic patriarchy in portugal. the “new portuguese letters” also denounced the injustices of portuguese colonialism and contributed to the downfall of the second republic and the authoritarian regimes that had ruled portugal since 1926.
in response to the invitation for a solo exhibition, the artist proposed the need to summon a constellation of artists—carla filipe, gisela casimiro, leonor parda, mané pacheco, miguel bonneville, and rogério nuno costa—to collectively reflect on these fundamental works and the divisive themes that are still present today, as well as those projected into the future.