A Word to the Reader

The ancients say that an exhibition cannot be fully understood at a single glance, that the earthly mist conceals what the sun cannot overcome, and that the sea quietly hides those things which time itself dareth not unveil. Let the Traveler, therefore, seek not only those paths which appear to be the honest ones, but rather attend unto the signs, the scents, and the herbs; or unto the horizons, which at times speak louder than the places themselves.

Vade-Mécum is the result of the 2026 nova vaga Award residency and features works by André Carreiro Oliveira, Atelineiras, and Tomás Toste. The observations and research conducted over the past year take the Azorean territory as their starting point to explore the coexistence of myths, sciences, spiritualities, and imagined archaeological remains. The exhibition offers a decentralized perspective on the island’s ecologies, histories, and imagery as a way to create parallel discourses that challenge the dominant ways of producing and transmitting knowledge about the territory.