PRESENTATION
"CASINHA DE PRAZER" is an installation inspired by the typical buildings of Madeiran farms, attributed to the English influence during the sugar trade between the end of the 18th century and the middle of the 19th century. These small buildings, made of wood or stone and strategically located in the gardens of the farms, offered wide views of the street and the landscape. They served as peaceful refuges for the owners and their guests, being spaces intended for relaxation and socialization, reflecting a more contemplative lifestyle connected with nature.
The proposed installation recreates this idea with a triangular structure, referencing the shape of the typical houses of Santana. The structure is designed in a fractal format that expands in three directions, with each side presenting an open and a closed part. This configuration seeks to escape from the conventional and elitist, approaching something more accessible and popular. The openings in the structure allow free movement, while the trellises offer privacy and the possibility of observing the landscape discreetly.
This project is closely linked to the artist's ethnobotanical research, which explores local identities and the relationship between fauna, flora, humans and territories. The pleasure house stands as a boundary between the public and the private, providing a space for retreat and introspection, where one can observe the landscape and stimulate new possibilities and abstractions.
The concept of landscape, which emerged in the Renaissance with painting, is understood here as a junction between the observer and the observed, encouraging reflection and critical thinking. The landscape is seen as an accumulation of aesthetic, social and critical layers that make up a space. In the artist's proposal, the pleasure house is compared to a seed, symbolizing acceptance and the time needed for the emergence of new ideas and the reworking of the self. This space allows a disconnection from everyday reality, highlighting the importance of the time needed for each new life cycle.
To align the concept of time in nature, the artist transforms the house into an exhibition space, presenting three paintings of a plant common in the gardens of the houses, the Monstera deliciosa. These paintings will represent the life cycles of the plant, emphasizing the connection between body, flower, seed and pleasure. In addition, the project includes guided tours, live sessions with cultural agents and photographic and video documentation, reinforcing the interaction between the artist, the work and the public.
