“Woven Stories” by Raquel Belli
27.10.2023 ------> 06.01.2024
In the heart of Faro, the traditional Bairro Ribeirinho stands as an oasis of timelessness amidst the currents of change. This unique neighborhood, with its cobblestone street and weathered houses, has been a sanctuary for generations of residents. They are the guardians of a living heritage, preserving the essence of a Faro that existed long before the allure of tourism and the nightlife beckoned.
But the winds of change are palpable within the Bairro Ribeirinho. It's a place where tradition and transformation dance a delicate waltz, and the heartbeat of the neighborhood is woven into the fabric of the past and present.
Woven Stories takes you on a journey through time and place, employing a reinvented secular and artisanal technique. Seamlessly blending vintage photographs, capturing the faces and landscapes of a bygone era, with contemporary imagery that portrays the ever-evolving present, this juxtaposition serves as a bridge connecting the historical soul of the neighborhood with the vibrant pulse of today. The mundane becomes extraordinary as these elements are weaved together, showcasing the profound beauty that surrounds us in our daily lives.
Woven Stories invites you to experience the Bairro Ribeirinho in a unique light. It's a visual exploration that underscores the intersection of time and space, the harmonious blend of tradition and change. Through this technique of weaving, the stories of the neighborhood's stalwart inhabitants and their enduring connection to this enchanting place, are unraveled. The old and the new intertwine, creating a vibrant tapestry that is as captivating as it is profound.
Raquel Belli (b, 1982, Lisbon, Portugal) is a mother, photographer, and visual artist. Being Portuguese of Italian descent, she has lived and worked in the last ten years between Portugal and East Timor. With a degree in Visual Arts from ESAD – Escola Superior de Artes e Design (Caldas da Rainha, 2006), she finished the Technical Course in Photography at ETIC – Escola de Tecnologias, Inovação e Criação (Lisbon, 2008) where she developed and deepened still photography. She collaborated and participated in various group and solo exhibitions in the course of her studies.
After doing an internship and working for a few years in the travel magazine Volta ao Mundo, documentary and travel photography gained importance in her career. In 2012, in East Timor, she collaborated in the creation of WAP (WomenArtPower) a structure for female empowerment through the support to creation and promotion of art made by women. She published a photography book on the peculiar Christmas that occurs in this country, in collaboration with José Ramos-Horta and Xanana Gusmão (“Aqui Onde O Sol, Logo Em Nascendo, Vê Primeiro”, 2014).
Inspired by the crafts and manual work of Timorese women such as basketry and weaving, in 2017 she developed the first body of work that combines photography with these techniques. She exhibited for the first time at the Asian Foundation, in Dili, that same year. Besides her documentary work in the press, the plasticity which she makes use of in her images has led her work to be showcased in galleries and cultural venues.
She applies techniques and patterns used in basketry and weaving, according to the locations she visits, taking advantage of the seemingly randomness of the objects/subjects portrayed and aesthetics created. Intimate and personal, but easily relatable, the body of work revealed in this exhibition takes the viewer on a journey through what could be anyone's family memories.
Driven by curiosity and a creative stimulus guided by the understanding of this reality, Raquel Belli explores the aesthetics of this photographic treasure and the unique era it portrays, intertwining identifiable features of past eras with the contemporary sensory experience.
