Interruptores, 2004
Light, chandelier and crystal octagon beads
Approximate measurementss: 300 X 75 x 75 cm
Nogueira da Silva Museum, Braga, Portugal
Interruptores is a site-specific installation developed in response to the private collection of Nogueira da Silva, and the architectural space of the museum which was once his home, built by Raul Rodrigues Lima between 1940 and 1950. The second and top floor of the museum, almost never opened to public – featuring paintings, sculptures, furniture and a wide variety of sumptuous objects from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century – provides an unequivocal expression of wealth, power and modernity which clearly contrasts with the modest way of life which characterised this period.
Therefore, instead of creating a ‘new’ object, to avoid adding more objects to the private collection of Nogueira da Silva, I decided to work directly on pre-existing material. The making of Interruptores involved uniting by hand approximately five thousand crystal beads. The ‘light-curtain’ of Interruptores invites the audience to experience an alternative space within the space of the museum.
The work was part of MNS, Ideias no lugar
