Скачать или смотреть "A Independança da Batata" // "The Indepen-dance of the Potato"

Like most artists, I am often forced to reflect on the cultural system’s economy. In Portugal, I see it’s mostly artists with a financially stable background who are able to develop a full-time practice.

Since 2021, I’ve participated in 22 exhibitions/performances, 9 residencies, published 3 articles, led workshops, and initiated/organized projects as a curator. I did all this, and between burnouts, depression, and existential thoughts about my career, I was only paid for 7 of these.

Considering the global panorama, I still consider myself one of the lucky ones. I’m lucky because, as an emerging artist, I managed to get 7 paid projects in 3 years (which was somehow sufficient because of my incredibly supportive family who hosted me while I fixed my grandparents’ apartment where I now live rent-free). If it wasn’t for them, I couldn’t do this full-time. I’m one of the lucky ones because I managed to do so many projects that many incredibly talented and driven artists can’t take on because they must juggle a full-time job in parallel to their art practice.

It’s important to be thankful for my privilege, but also not to disregard the ugly sides of our sector. There’s an extreme lack of funding, generalized cultural illiteracy, and, worse of all, a mentality of art as something to be enjoyed but not financially compensated: of “visibility” and “opportunities” as the standardized payment for artists. I’m very thankful for my family, that I can keep the dream alive, but I can not and will not be thankful for a system I don’t believe in.

As an artist, it’s my responsibility to voice these issues. In October 2023, I presented "The Indepen-dance of the Potato" at the exhibition PERSPETIVA24 (Museu da Bienal de Arte de Cerveira), as a manifesto of empowerment and collectivism. Historically, the potato has been a symbol of the working class. In a performance, I connected the potatoes around me, making a battery to power a light bulb that illuminated the room. The chemical reaction responsible for generating this energy results in the depletion of the potatoes' nutrients. In a symbolic act of liberation, I professed my freedom, disconnected the potatoes from the system that enslaved them, and returned them to the soil.