Carolina Grau /Curator 

Adriana Barreto: Silêncio Pendular

at Appelton Square, Lisbon, Portugal (January 2016)

Adriana Barreto (Rio de Janeiro, 1949) presents a new project Silêncio pendular, 2016, following her line of research into the concept of performance as a platform which creates spaces of associations, where spectators stop being spectators and become participants, as well as a fundamental part of the work.

Silêncio pendular is an invitation by Barreto to be part of an action, in order to become aware of our internal movement in a space of seclusion. The main room of Appleton Square has been converted into an installation consisting of a sound piece and a structure formed by several mirrors which surround a moving platform. Before entering this installation, we will leave behind our belongings, the frenzy of daily life, and everything that occupies us. The artist will offer us a crystal quartz pendulum, an element of communication and light, and we will accompany her in silence.

For twenty minutes we will walk in silence, listening to our interior, feeling our contact with the pendulum, accompanied by the rhythm of the voice of the artist. We will observe ourselves and our interior. The mirrors and apertures that surround the space create a multiplicity of images, of questions regarding who is observing and who is being observed. Six cushions will be provided so that the visitors can take turns accessing the inside of the mirrored pendulous structure. Inside, we accompany Barreto in a quest to be in contact with our internal movements which are almost imperceptible, symbolised by the movement of the pendulum. Silêncio pendular is a reflexion on the very state of immobility versus mobility, making us aware of the movement of the universe around us, and of our internal mobility.