This project brings different European cities together in an artistic reflection of the unprecedented circumstances we are all living through, “at home”, carried out through photography and literature.
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The challenge:
Faced with Europe at a “standstill”, with most of the population self-isolating, the Faro2027 team challenged several European cities to portray the experience of this unprecedented time in our history, caused by the Covid 19 pandemic, through the lens of a photographer and the words of a writer.
Each city taking part in the “Europe at Home” project invited a photographer and writer to produce images and texts to portray the experience of latent social isolation in the daily lives of their communities. These art works are now being displayed on the project's digital platform at europeathome.eu.
Each city taking part in the “Europe at Home” project invited a photographer and writer to produce images and texts to portray the experience of latent social isolation in the daily lives of their communities. These art works are now being displayed on the project's digital platform at europeathome.eu.
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Vasco CélioParticipating Photographer for the city of FaroPortuguese photographer Vasco Célio was born in Angola in 1975. Having arrived in Portugal at a young age, he has lived in the Algarve ever since. From the south of Portugal, he has sought to look at his home country, Europe and Africa through a documentary-style lens. This permanent contemplation and deep reflection has led to the artist producing several photographic publications as well as both solo and group exhibitions commissioned by various institutions, curators and other artists.
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“Within the uncertainty we have been experiencing throughout this pandemic, a huge question mark still lies ahead of us.
I feel like we're whirling around in a tornado with no idea where we're going to end up or how we’ re going to feel when it stops! What will the social consequences be, of this isolation, and how will we digest them on a personal level? What new roles have our homes and interiors taken on under these new circumstances?
The photographs I took for the Europe At Home project focused on this inside view and what we’ve experienced within our homes, with our families, as opposed to the empty space that leads us to question what is going on between walls. I believe that art is and will continue to be fundamental in helping us face future circumstances that, for the moment, are nothing more than a big question mark in our future”
I feel like we're whirling around in a tornado with no idea where we're going to end up or how we’ re going to feel when it stops! What will the social consequences be, of this isolation, and how will we digest them on a personal level? What new roles have our homes and interiors taken on under these new circumstances?
The photographs I took for the Europe At Home project focused on this inside view and what we’ve experienced within our homes, with our families, as opposed to the empty space that leads us to question what is going on between walls. I believe that art is and will continue to be fundamental in helping us face future circumstances that, for the moment, are nothing more than a big question mark in our future”
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Sandro William JunqueiraParticipating literary artist for the city of FaroSandro William Junqueira (1974) was born in Umtali, in what was formerly Rhodesia, but has always lived in Portugal. He is a writer and drama teacher. He has had several novels published, among which are "No céu não há limões” (There are no lemons in the sky) (2014, APE - Portuguese Writers Association prize nominee) and "Quando as girafas baixam o pescoço” (When giraffes bow their necks) (2017, SPA - Portuguese Society of Authors prize nominee). He has also written several short stories, plays and children's books. He currently runs projects “PANOS - Palcos Novos Palavras Novas” and “KCena” at the D. Maria II National Portuguese Theatre.
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“I think the Europe at Home project is extremely interesting. It demonstrates how all countries are on an equal footing in terms of their experiences, sharing this moment of social distancing. Here’s a snippet of the text I wrote for the project: The fist of reality is balled tight, punching fiction again and again, day after day. Just one thing. No more than that. Making us poorer. Paul Celan warned that writing was impossible after a tragedy. Indifferent to the warning, my dog has kept walking me through the city’s empty streets. And I’ve been obedient. And I’ll keep being obedient, and grateful for it. Facing fear daily as it advances in on my freedom. But while my dog keeps walking me through the city’s empty streets, I’ll be a man that walks noisily.”
The concept
We’re living through events that are unprecedented in recent history. In Europe, citizens of all generations are faced with a collective challenge they’ve never experienced before, resisting a faceless public enemy that forces them to reflect on the uncertainty of the future across every dimension of society. To question the imposition of a new reality.
Social and personal conventions are put to the test, while each of us tries to keep hope alive, feeling it with what we see, hears and read in the digital sphere. Using their art, artists around the world help us gain a new perspective of our reality - both the inside and outside - going beyond the barrier put up by fear. However, the truth is that now, more than ever before, it is the behaviours and attitudes of every individual that helps slow the curve, the curve of salvation, and the concept of citizenship is diluted by stillness and isolation.
Being physically close to those around you is strictly limited and public spaces are avoided. And with these limitations imposed, our houses and windows take on a new dimension and we start looking at the streets of our city, our neighbourhood and our neighbours from a new perspective. And as well as being the people next door, we start to see people in other countries as our neighbours, growing closer through a shared experience. Europe, particularly the European Union, faces a major challenge as it sees the concepts of community, prosperity and peace being challenged.
It is in this context of uncertainty that we turn to each other and ask: will we be able to overcome all of this creatively, and positively?
The main objective of the “Europe At Home” project is to reflect on these issues, bringing different European cities and artists together so that they may provide an artistic perspective of this specific moment in our history, using images and words to create this feeling of “at home”.
Social and personal conventions are put to the test, while each of us tries to keep hope alive, feeling it with what we see, hears and read in the digital sphere. Using their art, artists around the world help us gain a new perspective of our reality - both the inside and outside - going beyond the barrier put up by fear. However, the truth is that now, more than ever before, it is the behaviours and attitudes of every individual that helps slow the curve, the curve of salvation, and the concept of citizenship is diluted by stillness and isolation.
Being physically close to those around you is strictly limited and public spaces are avoided. And with these limitations imposed, our houses and windows take on a new dimension and we start looking at the streets of our city, our neighbourhood and our neighbours from a new perspective. And as well as being the people next door, we start to see people in other countries as our neighbours, growing closer through a shared experience. Europe, particularly the European Union, faces a major challenge as it sees the concepts of community, prosperity and peace being challenged.
It is in this context of uncertainty that we turn to each other and ask: will we be able to overcome all of this creatively, and positively?
The main objective of the “Europe At Home” project is to reflect on these issues, bringing different European cities and artists together so that they may provide an artistic perspective of this specific moment in our history, using images and words to create this feeling of “at home”.
All of Europe “at home" through the eyes of its artists!
"Europe at Home" aims to be an open movement, seeking to involve more cities and their artists as well as the citizens of Europe on the whole. Find out more about the cities and artists participating in the project, follow its growth and navigate through the entries on the digital platform europeathome.eu.
