Praia do Vau 1982

Curator: Here we have Joaquim Rodrigo’s "Praia do Vau," created in 1982, a mixed-media piece that presents us with an intriguing cityscape. Editor: My immediate impression is of a map rendered in dreamlike simplicity. The high contrast between the beige and black gives it an almost stark, graphic quality. Curator: It's fascinating to consider Rodrigo's choice of this aerial perspective. Does it serve to flatten power structures, presenting a society as interconnected and reliant, yet also subject to systems of regulation? The silhouetted figures performing quotidian actions seem almost performative. Editor: Interesting perspective. I see a folk-art sensibility combined with a child's imaginative landscape drawing. This rendering avoids idealization; we are confronted by simplified architectural forms, yet we are invited to explore the organization of the cityscape. Its presentation reminds me of historical urban mapping, designed not for navigation as such, but more so for ownership, power, and control. Curator: Do you think then it also asks questions of the power of observation? Who gets to decide which stories are shown and made into these historical documents, particularly thinking of the silhouetted figures and shapes. I suppose the artist invites the audience to reimagine a utopian cityscape removed from current struggles? Editor: Yes, I agree! The monochromatic tones remove certain specificity allowing us to question the historical and social frameworks inherent in how cities are developed. And those repeated houses become standardized rather than personal. Do you agree? Curator: Precisely, even the trees lack individual expression and all are very similar to one another in size and shape. There are hints to the history of modernist planning as well; everything has its proper designated area within the landscape. I wonder too what an indigenous reading would make of the portrayal of land use within this context... Editor: A compelling thought. Ultimately, this seemingly straightforward rendering provides much to unpack. The playful rendering alongside a slightly stark composition allows space for the audience's own experiences and beliefs of societal structures. Curator: Absolutely. It is amazing what can be seen once an artwork like "Praia do Vau" is viewed through the lenses of multiple intersectional histories.