This film is a reimagination of the sea travels during the Portuguese expansion. Black burnt engine oil creates abstract images and symbolic elements such as stars, sails and sand tell a story of sea crossing and land usurpation. The sea, the night skies’ somber landscapes and the subtle movements of the clouds and waves translate the passage of time and the growing expectation of the arrival. “Chapter One: The Arrival” is a reflection on history. An attempt to grasp the turn of events that created momentum for history to be shaped. The importance of revisiting the past, as if we could change it, and rewrite the narrative of the “heroes” and riches that defined an era. The use of black burnt engine oil connects the voyage to the present day. This liquid embodies today’s Capitalism, greed and exploration of natural resources, and it reminds us that the colonial project still prevails.
Sara Carneiro (Viseu, 1994) is a Portuguese visual artist based in Matola, Mozambique. After graduating from Multimedia at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Porto (Portugal), in 2017 she moved to Mozambique, where she began to lecture Multimedia at the Art Faculty of the Institute of Arts and Culture (ISArC). The artist showcased her work in exhibitions both in Portugal and Mozambique. In Maputo she had a solo exhibition called “Do Norte para o Sul, entre a paisagem e o homem” at the German-Mozambique Cultural Center (CCMA) and the collective “Quando olho para mim não me reconheço” at the Fernando Leite Couto Foundation (FFLC) among other shows. In 2020, her film “Chapter One: The Arrival” was displayed internationally in 18 cities across the African continent at the Video Art Festival Boda Boda Lounge. Often through creating abstract and atmospheric imagery in works ranging from sculpture to video-art, Sara explores symbolic relations between materials that allow her to speak about history, identity and notions of power.
