“The Language of Shadows: Visual Correspondence”, by Catarina and Fernando Coelho
Daughter and father, Catarina Coelho and Fernando Coelho, live on continents separated by the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean. Catarina, in Boston, USA, where she teaches at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and develops her artistic practice. Fernando, in Lisbon, where he works as a communication designer and is a Specialist Professor in Polytechnic Higher Education. To combat the distance during the pandemic years, they exchanged photo letters.
What began as a private line of communication between daughter and father turned into a visual essay that gave rise to the book “The Language of Shadows: Visual Correspondence”, now in its second edition, and the homonymous exhibition presented for the first time by the Cascais Cultural Center between October 11, 2024 and January 12, 2025.
Although it began spontaneously even earlier, the visual correspondence between father and daughter took shape and volume during the pandemic. “This was a time of isolation and separation, which we came to overcome by sharing the many affinities and professional and artistic interests we have in common, and also with this visual game we invented and indulged in with increasing enthusiasm,” they say.
Between 2020 and 2021, more than 600 photographs were exchanged in the “game of shadows”, as they would come to define the creative challenge they candidly created for themselves. In fact, shadows are the visual language that runs through all the images. Through them, daughter and father wave to each other and reaffirm their presence during the time when physical reunion was not possible.
Find out more about “The Language of Shadows: Visual Correspondence”, by Catarina and Fernando Coelho: HERE
More information: 214 815 660 | geral@fdl.pt
Organization: Cascais City Council | D. Luís I Foundation | Museum Quarter