They are pieces of jewelry, but also works of art, designed by the author, conceived as sculptures that can stand out from the bodies of the models who will wear them and assume the leading role.
The “Corpo Restricted” project, unprecedented in Portugal, brings together two worlds that do not always come together, but that have a lot in common. The result of this merger will be made known, first hand, on October 3rd, at the Foyer of Teatro das Figuras, at 21 pm.
«Jewelry is a form of sculpture, whatever its size. She is three-dimensional. What we wanted to do was large pieces of jewelry that intervened on the body. Initially I thought to invite only jewelers, but as there aren't that many in the Algarve, I extended the range to sculptors, set designers and other plastic artists», he revealed to Sul Informação the master jeweler Filomeno Pereira de Sousa, mentor of this project. The challenge was accepted by 20 artists, who created 25 pieces.
At the same time, the renowned Algarve photographer Vasco Célio was asked to collect images of all the pieces of the «Corpo Restricted», which will be the object of an exhibition that will be held in different parts of the Algarve, from 11 October , and which will eventually serve as the basis for a catalogue.
The exhibition has 25 images and already has a guaranteed ticket to the Palace of the Lieutenant, in Faro (11th and 18th of October), in the Ruínas de Milreu, in Estoi (October 23rd to November 29th), and in the Costume Museum of São Brás de Alportel (December 11th to March, 2015).
It will be through the images that most people will have the opportunity to see these pieces. The only time they will be shown live and on models will be at the October 3rd event.
Here, the models will be “non-professional people, faces of the Faroese society, of everyday life”, who will circulate among the guests, “talk to them and explain the pieces they use”, revealed Filomeno de Sousa.
Everyone involved in this project, including the entire artistic and production team, is collaborating pro bono, that is, completely free of charge. At the same time, "innumerable supporters" have emerged, among public entities, companies and individuals.
“When we started talking about this project, people were excited and many doors opened”, revealed Filomeno de Sousa.
In the «Restricted Body» the art overlaps the preciousness of the materials
The «Corpo Restricted» project has several rules, but none of them restrict the choice of materials and artistic options, by the creators, since «any material and any technique is allowed».
«People, when talking about jewelry, sometimes confuse and associate the use of noble materials: gold, silver and precious stones. This concept may still exist for some people, but in contemporary designer jewelry, which has existed for 40 years, the preciousness is not in the materials, but in the artistic quality of the piece, such as in sculpture or painting», he said.
Of the pieces created within the scope of this project, there are some in silver and bronze, «but there is also plastic and fabric». “Furthermore, as they were large pieces, it was impossible to make them only with noble materials. And it's not just the cost. Gold has a very high density and a piece in this material could weigh more than a kilo, which would not be very comfortable», he said, laughing.
In the field of what is mandatory, Filomeno de Sousa asked the creators that the pieces should be of large dimensions and that they «have shapes that project outside the body». «It was also not allowed to use materials and shapes already identified and the pieces could not have a handcrafted appearance either. In other words, they would have to be design pieces, clean, haughty and elegant», he revealed.
A "unique and unusual" experience
«In the Algarve, there has never been anything like this, but I am also able to say that something like this has never been done elsewhere in the country. Of course, there have been jewelry parades, but they are commercial jewelry, small in size, which often cannot be seen well in the parade. Here, no, they are large pieces», said Filomeno de Sousa.
This is, therefore, «a unique and unusual experience», where «it is not the body that carries the jewel, but the jewel that intervenes, superimposes and guides the body».
Choosing the place to show live the pieces created was not simple. “There were several suggestions. In Faro, there are several cloisters that would certainly be a good scenario. But I always imagined a cleaner and more open room, and the Foyer do Teatro corresponds to that.
«It all starts because I have experience in jewelery for 40 years and have been teaching for 34 years. I've had a school in Lisbon and Porto and opened a small workshop in about a year and a half ago. Faro», revealed Filomeno Pereira de Sousa.
«In interaction with my students, the idea of making large-scale pieces came up. This is work that I had already done in the 80s, which were already done before by other jewelers and, sometimes, they reappear”, he added.
Photographs give the idea "that the mannequin is the accessory of the piece"
O Sul Informação he was with the project mentor and with the photographer Vasco Célio in a photography session, where he saw some of the pieces already created and watched the work of the Algarve photographer.
«Filomeno wanted to make a set of images that would be the standard for this project. I was given complete freedom to do whatever I wanted, as long as the pieces were clearly visible. In other words, this is not to show the pieces, as if it were a catalogue, as is typical, but something more creative and artistic», explained Vasco Célio.
“This photographic record will be what will be kept and what people who cannot go to the parade will have access to. We created some concepts and there were several ideas. For logistical reasons, we decided to do all the sessions in the studio, with very specific lighting that I created, to give the idea that the mannequin is the accessory of the piece», he explained.
A work of precision and patience, where the smallest detail counts. Not least because these photos will later be printed “on a noble, durable and large support”. "We want the confrontation with whoever sees the piece in the exhibition to be almost a direct confrontation with the piece, in dimensional terms", added Vasco Célio.
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