CUBÍCULO #3

Raquel Belli
WOVEN: MARCEL BREUER AND HIS HAREM (MARTHA ERPS, KATT BOTH AND RUTH HELLOS)

Cubículo // ESAD.CR
2 March, 2023
6:00 p.m. | Opening

“Woven” is a project initiated by Raquel Belli in East Timor, in which, through patterns and weaving and basketry techniques collected in the various regions of the country, she interweaves photographic images together, respecting typical patterns used in that part of the world, paying homage to a centuries-old artisan art, trivialized and practiced mostly by women.

Using this technique, Raquel Belli will weave a large format image into the strips that support and shape CUBÍCULO. The image chosen is a photograph by Erich Consemüller from 1927, alluding to the little known or unknown women of the Bauhaus, entitled “Marcel Breuer and his Harem (Martha Erps, Katt Both and Ruth Hellos)”, which, in her own words “represents the exact opposite of what the title describes. They completely dominate the picture with confidence and attitude, in contrast to Breuer’s gaze, as if supervising their behavior (…) I had been thinking of doing something with this theme for some time. The decade we are in celebrates the centenary of the Dessau school, and I have always associated the building in Caldas, designed by Vítor Figueiredo, with a mixture of modernisms, but very much in the Bauhaus way, an art school in the middle of a forest (…) Starting from the little recognized work of the women of the Bauhaus, particularly in the importance they had in spreading tapestry as an art, I chose this photo.”

Raquel Belli is a mother, photographer and visual artist. Portuguese with Italian roots, she lives and works for the last ten years between Portugal and Timor-Leste. Graduated in Fine Arts at ESAD.CR, she concluded the Technical Course of Photography at ETIC, where she developed and deepened her knowledge of scene photography. With collective and individual exhibitions during her studies, it was after an internship and working with “Volta ao Mundo” magazine that documentary and travel photography gained importance. In Timor she collaborated in the creation of WAP (WomenArtPower), for female empowerment through the support of art made by women. In 2014 publishes in collaboration with José Ramos-Horta and Xanana Gusmão “Aqui Onde O Sol, Logo Em Nascendo, Vê Primeiro”, about the peculiar Christmas in Timor. She collaborates and exhibits regularly with the galleries Underdogs and This Is Not A White Cube (TINAWC).

CUBÍCULO is a permanent programming space at ESAD.CR and a project of the Unesco Chair in Arts and Culture Management, Cities and Creativity.

Org: Unesco Chair in Arts and Culture Management, Cities and Creativity – IPLeiria; Grémio Caldense
Design: Nayara Siler
Photo: https://gestaodasartes.ipleiria.pt/cubiculo-3-belli/
More info: https://gestaodasartes.ipleiria.pt/cubiculo-3-belli/
Raquel Belli: website | instagram | facebook