The inception of the Beacon series traces back to a solitary photograph captured for the project „Portuguese Sea“ by Bernardo Caria. Rooted in Fernando Pessoa‘s 1922 poem of the same title, the project delves into diverse interpretations of home. At its core, the sea symbolizes a wellspring of inspiration, exploration, and identity.
A year later, the poetic essence of Pessoa‘s verses metamorphosed into a lens-based art series titled Beacon. The expansive sea embodies boundlessness and promise, a stark contrast to the confines of urban living, particularly within sprawling megacities. Amidst the bustling metropolis, where individuals often feel lost amidst concrete canyons and a cacophony of noise, finding the tranquility Pessoa seeks in the sea proves elusive.
Yet, within the urban labyrinth, a languid light unveils the unseen and overlooked. Neon emanates from forsaken bus stop billboards, casting an ethereal glow reminiscent of coastal beacons. This luminous voyage through the cityscape evokes the hues of the sea—rugged and brilliant, evoking a longing for home. The tales of those setting out on their journeys remain shrouded in mystery to us; we merely glimpse them as they wait or vanish into the distance. It‘s only the illumination of the bus stop that hints at a narrative, leaving us to conjure the story within our imaginations.
Adding another layer to the series, documenting the fading Bangkok bus stops adorned with colossal backlit advertisements becomes a testament to identity and transition. As 2024 unfolds, these iconic structures are graduallysupplanted by more economical and utilitarian counterparts, signaling an era‘s end.
At the core of the Beacon series lies photography, offering a distinctive 360º narrative journey that encompasses different media, presented in three parts - The Coast (mixed media), The Sea (photography), and The Wave (collectors reward airdrops) for “Narratiff” with Colonna Contemporary.
