The exhibition by photographer and visual artist Raquel Belli opens on October 27 at 17h00 and can be seen until January 6.
Photographer and visual artist Raquel Belli is showcasing her work at the Galeria GAMA RAMA in Faro. From October 27 until January 6, visitors will discover unique pieces made from photographic images intertwined with patterns using artisanal and reinvented weaving and basketry techniques.
For this exhibition, the artist delved into the lives, experiences and memories of Faro’s Bairro Ribeirinho community, creating a lively and captivating juxtaposition of documentary photography with tapestry patterns. The old and the new intertwine in singular plasticity, showing the neighbourhood and its people from a unique perspective.
The exhibition is the result of work developed by Raquel Belli during an artistic residency in the Ribeirinho neighbourhood of Faro in response to the challenge from the Na Mouche – Associação Cultural, organizer of OPEN STUDIOS FARO.
“This visual exploration [of Woven Stories] highlights the intersection of time and space, the fusion between tradition and change. The stories of the neighbourhood’s inhabitants and their lasting connection to this location, a labyrinth of streets which combines the village spirit with cosmopolitan spaces and nightlife, and all its contrasts, are revealed. It is a living heritage which preserves the essence of a Faro that existed long before the appeal of tourism and nightlife and which struggles to maintain its identity”, says the OPEN STUDIO FARO organisation.
“Woven Stories” includes a large-format outdoor artistic installation, on which the community is invited to participate in “weaving images” on October 25 from 10h00 at the GAMA RAMA gallery.
“Woven Stories” is on display until January 6 at the GAMA RAMA Gallery (Rua do Prior no 13 – Faro), in the heart of the Ribeirinho neighbourhood. Entry is free of charge.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Raquel Belli is a mother, photographer and visual artist. Portuguese, with Italian roots, for the last ten years, she has lived and worked between Portugal and East Timor, where she started working on “Woven”, inspired by the crafts and manual labour of Timorese women with basketry and weaving.
She graduated in Fine Arts at ESAD in Caldas da Rainha in 2006. In 2008, she completed a Technical Photography Course at ETIC, where she developed and delved into scene photography.
In Timor, she collaborated in the creation of WAP (WomenArtPower) and published a book of photographs about the country’s peculiar Christmas in collaboration with José Ramos-Horta and Xanana Gusmão (“Aqui Onde O Sol, Logo Em Nascendo, Vê Primeiro”, 2014 ).
