Teatro de Sombras, As Cinco Estações (still) 1976

Lourdes Castro created this black-and-white photograph as a still from her shadow theatre, "The Five Seasons." The image is striking for its directness. We see the lower portion of a figure, suspended mid-air, and the sharp shadow it casts on the ground. The interplay of light and shadow is the material here. Castro isn't using pigment or clay, but rather capturing a fleeting moment, a dance between presence and absence. This aligns her with a performative tradition, where the artistic act isn't about making a permanent object, but rather staging an event. The simplicity of the scene – a figure, a shadow, a ground – belies a deeper complexity. Castro highlights the ephemerality of existence, and asks us to consider the relationship between what is real and what is merely a projection. In foregrounding this elemental contrast of light and shadow, Castro elevates the ordinary to the level of profound reflection, reminding us that art can be found not just in what is made, but in what is seen.