KOMMA
Neighborhood Project
This group project took place during a whole semester, it was developed by me alongside two colleagues. The task at hand was to choose one of the many neighborhoods (bairros) in Lisbon, understand it’s intricacies and history, and then proceed to develop a visual work around this investigation, which initially was based on interviewing residents and identifying the local commerce in a order to understand the dynamics of the bairro.
The chosen neighborhood was Braço De Prata ( which literally means silver arm), where in the 20th century a major arms factory was in production. It is today a calm and humble neighborhood, with notable signs of decay. The project resulted in many different objects, here I present the ones I feel were the most important and defining.
The chosen neighborhood was Braço De Prata ( which literally means silver arm), where in the 20th century a major arms factory was in production. It is today a calm and humble neighborhood, with notable signs of decay. The project resulted in many different objects, here I present the ones I feel were the most important and defining.
PSYCHOGEOGRAPHIC MAP
This “map” serves as a metaphor for our view of the Bairro and it’s decadent life. Taking inspirations from 60’s conceptual art from the likes of Joseph Kosuth, we wanted something that could represent a less geographical representation. Our point was that we didn’t feel welcome in those streets. The window simbolizes a physical but also psychological barrier between us and the residents. It also represents an hidden observer, due to the constant feeling
of being watched.
The third aspect it represents is decay, as the bairro was once a very busy place, and now it seems as though not many people live there. The aspects that describe this “map” are the basis for most of our work in this project.
The map served as an installation, and later was photographed and printed. I took part in the concept and idealization of the object, and I took the picture above. The text that was present next to the window represented a speech by the window itself.
of being watched.
The third aspect it represents is decay, as the bairro was once a very busy place, and now it seems as though not many people live there. The aspects that describe this “map” are the basis for most of our work in this project.
The map served as an installation, and later was photographed and printed. I took part in the concept and idealization of the object, and I took the picture above. The text that was present next to the window represented a speech by the window itself.
Translation:
I am more than a window. I am a testimony, I am an identity. I represent the neighborhood Braço de Prata in it’s peculiarity as an occult location. Behind me hide people who only witness and glance at the passers-by. Any strange face is immediately detected, proceeded by a message transmitted from window to window. From figure to figure. Everything remains occult. I am the safety of the Braço de Prata.
A boundary between what’s outside and what lies within. I hide and keep. I scar the place physically. Every street and every home. Tens and hundreds of me. I can’t guide you, but I will accompany you every step of the way.
Welcome to the Braço de Prata neighborhood.
Welcome to the Braço de Prata neighborhood.
KOMMA – Visual Identity
After having a deep knowledge of the place at hand, knowing it’s intricacies and dynamics, the next propositon was to create a visual identity that both represented the bairro aswell as our project group. Primarily it was necessary to come up with a name.
Komma ended up being the name because of it’s dual meaning, firstly the notion of an unconscious place and secondly the idea that we, as group could represent a comma in that history, a turning point. We were then each one asked to develop our own idea for a logotype that would be fitting. The final design was the one designed by me. I based my drawing on a landmark of the location: the remains of an old industrial spot that almost “haunt” the landscape of the neighborhood. The symbol is meant to resemble a sort of skeleton, the remains of something that once was. The font type used resembles that of the Soviet Constructivism generally associated with working class areas, which were politically associated with leftist parties, particularly relevant given the industrial marks of the bairro. The identity was then put on various social media platforms, where we would share our work and process.
EU, BRAÇO DE PRATA – MOVIE OF THE BAIRRO
For me the defining moment of this project was the movie of the bairro. As an audiovisual representation of everything that the neighborhood meant to us. We created a character that narrates the film, firstly explaining the peculiar origin of the name of the neighborhood. Then, while somber, almost depressing, images of Braço de Prata appear, with a slow cadence that represents old age and inertia the narrator walks the viewer through the history of the neighborhood, glorifying it’s great past full of people and life, and admiting to a decay due to the inevitable passage of time . Only in the final moments do we understand that the voice represents a living being that is the actual bairro. I shot and edited this short film.
