According to the dictionary, a "fresta" is a narrow opening that allows the passage of light and air; a fissure, slit, crevice, or simply a narrow opening in a wall or roof for ventilation and illumination. When contemplating these contexts, it seems fair to add the following: a "fresta" is also the space between, at the frontier of something almost united, yet still separated. It is understood, then, that the application of this noun goes beyond a name for the present exhibition, extending to the dynamics of the work carried out by Collective Gabirú.
The modus operandi developed among the group members during the three months of residency in Bairro do Rego had at its center the lending and exchange of perspectives and knowledge with others, a symbiosis. As days passed, this dynamic shaped itself to individual potentialities, resulting in work marked by the subjectivities of each component. Even though authorship is not clear or delimited, it is still possible to identify the elements of its members in the details. Thus, the "fresta" is also this gap that makes an invitation to a curious peek, sharpening the imagination for discovery.
When Gabirú first entered Bairro do Rego, they observed it with the surprise of a foreigner's senses. On a route without a defined destination, they collected the specificities of the region and, in their own assumptions, created a scenario about the past and near future through traditional constructions and those that are in pulsating development among the scaffolding. They also understood that the noise of trains and airplanes is part of the striking personality of this place. As days passed and their experience broadened, they perceived the multiculturality of its residents and the life of the neighborhood. Days passed, and with the gaze of one who curiously peeks at something through the breach, they began the creative process and the production of works.
Before advancing in the description of supports for the composition of the works, it is worth noting a use of technology that transcends enchantment with machines, understanding that, above all, intelligence is human. Hardware, software, algorithms, etc., are developed by human beings. The use of technological means, here, does not refer only to machines, but rather to the intellectual, technical and creative capacity of humans, and it is through this understanding that these are in use, in an experimental and, above all, critical manner.
Thus, during 90 days, Collective Gabirú lived, discovered, collected and invented new meanings for Bairro do Rego. All the works that make up the exhibition started from the visual, sound and symbolic elements made available by the dynamics of this locality. And, like those who highlight the due merit of dialogue between digital and manual technologies, algorithms were used for image construction and lasers for QR code marking, but also ceramics, which with their symbolic charge, offer the slowness of time and memory. For something that cannot be seen, but is indisputably present in the neighborhood, the dynamics of sound also provided elements for the composition of the pieces on display. Finally, among the drifting walks, the idea of archaeology of absurdities was found, in which the group was involved in a kind of hunt for invisible treasures of everyday life. Therefore, it was through a slow gaze, through the "frestas" of meanings, that it became possible to imagine in stones, shards of ancient constructions and pieces of concrete from new structures the interweaving between past, present and, who knows, the future in Bairro do Rego.
"Fresta" is an exhibition by Collective Gabirú, formed by Thaynã Targa, Pablo Diaz and Fabio Curi, result of the Artistic Residency in Technological Arts and Multimedia - LAAR offered by the Lisbon City Council.
The group's acknowledgments to Bairro do Rego and its community, to the teams of Lisbon City Council/Municipal Culture Department, of FCT FABLAB, and Espaço Avenidas.
Collective Gabirú
Lisbon, December 2023
