– How does Helena Almeida appear in your life?
Delfim Sardo – For my generation, she is a fundamental artist, very important. First, because Portugal does not have a very strong context of artists who did performance art; and she did it throughout her life. We don’t see the performances, we see photographs of the performances; that was always her way of working.
– Innovative…
D.S. – Yes; an important side of innovation. The first big job I did with Helena was in 2004; I was at the Belém Cultural Center, directing the Exhibition Center, and the first exhibition in my program was a retrospective of Helena’s work; because there hadn’t been one in Lisbon since 1983. Twenty-one years had passed without Helena’s presence in the Portuguese institutional circuit.
– A lack of perception of what she represented?
D.S. – There was a great lack of perception, and clearly this reflected a certain sexism in the Portuguese art world. Without a doubt, the path for women artists was much more difficult than for men.
Her artistic presence is immediately understood; now, the universality of the themes, I don’t know – we’ll see.
– Is this prejudice now a thing of the past?
D.S. – It is much more resolved than in the past. When we think of the great figures of Portuguese art today, inevitably, many of those who come to mind are women: Paula Rego, Helena Almeida, Vieira da Silva… the imaginary space of Portuguese art is occupied by many women artists; but this is a much more recent development.
– Does your first work with her restore her as a generational reference?
D.S. – It was a restoration in the sense of giving her the visibility she deserved; showing her intense work over time. That’s when a working relationship really began, which then led to other exhibitions I did with her. I also wrote a lot about her work, so I had a close relationship with her. It was interesting for me to understand this complex, difficult work, which deserves to be looked at carefully. I am glad to have had that relationship.
– Is all this complexity evident here?
D.S. – The exhibition is a retrospective; it begins at the start of his career and goes up to his latest works. On the other hand, it addresses the various media he used: painting, at the beginning; drawing, which was very important; and, obviously, photography and video. There are some aspects that are obvious to viewers. First, you can see how she worked: she started with sketches, then filmed herself on video, and finally took the photographs. I think this process is clear in the exhibition; but there is another very interesting aspect, which is poetically powerful: following a woman who photographed herself, from her youth to the end of her life.
– We follow Helena Almeida herself…
D.S. – Her entire life journey: aging, wrinkles, the passage of time. Which is extraordinary, because she is a woman who manages to have herself and her body as the object of her image, living this in an extraordinary way. It is part of the density of her work.
– Artists from Macau and mainland China challenged in this project to draw inspiration from Helena Almeida’s work confess the great impact she had on them. Different cultures and generations; and yet…
D.S – It is inevitable, given Helena’s work. It is so strong, so intense, that no great explanation or introduction is needed. It is truly very impactful; due to its scale, dimension, and intensity. That is why the exhibition is called “I Am Here,” the title of one of Helena’s works, which has to do with this relationship of presence, of being in front of the work. Hence the subtitle “Presence and Resonance.” Obviously, the artists here, in one way or another, were sensitive to the way it echoes in us.
– Now here, in Macau… to internationalize Portuguese artistic values and processes? Or, because it is here, is there a different emotional image?
D.S. – It has a different emotional image because it shows the work of a Portuguese – and European – artist in a culturally distinct context; it faces a relationship with audiences that is certainly different from that in Portugal. For me, it is very interesting to see how people will look at Helena’s work; it is a kind of reality check to understand the universality of the themes, as I imagine them. We have already seen that her artistic presence is immediately understood; now, the universality of the themes, I don’t know – we’ll see.
– This project includes local production inspired by Helena Almeida; a curatorial course, a conference… As a curator, how did you experience these various experiences?
D.S. – That question is much more for the Museum. For me, it was very interesting; my work as a curator was much more powerful than if I had simply come here to do the exhibition, an opening, or a guided tour. There is the possibility of transmitting knowledge, a relationship with the artistic community and the people here who are interested in art. If the Museum gave you that context, I can only be grateful; it is a much richer, much more interesting opportunity.
