Rehearsal

Pandemic Portugal

A personal photographic project, empty and quiet.

In the final days of the European winter of 2020, I found myself far from home, alone, and in the shadows of what the COVID-19 pandemic would become.

Fotografia de um espaço a céu aberto com cadeiras vazias por conta do lockdown causa pelo covid em 2020

I started in Lisbon, but I didn't even make it to Cascais. The rest of the mainland was left for the future. Portugal became my temporary refuge, while insecurity accompanied me at every step. Mask on my face, I walked cautiously, not knowing how to protect myself from the virus. Virus?

On the second day of the alert, I found myself reflecting on fear and desire. Without restrictions, the city continued on, with only the fear hanging in the air. And, at the same time, an eagerness to enjoy life kept me moving. I was conflicted.

Vista parcial para o mar, onde metade da fotografia é também terra, com pedras, próximo ao mar

Monument to the Navigators. See a grand structure in Lisbon where men are sculpted as navigators.

Imagine a slope on a narrow street, with tall houses on both sides, and little lighting even on a clear, blue day.

Imagine an empty park bench, its back to a Lisbon avenue.

One day that same week, I opened my phone and messages with the same tone of "come back, the borders are closing and you won't be able to leave if you stay any longer" paralyzed me.
The conflict continued, and agony set in. Lisbon became increasingly deserted. Masks were now mandatory.

See a photograph of feet climbing the stairs of a square paved with Portuguese cobblestones.

See a Portuguese alley in Lisbon, in black and white.

See a viewpoint with an unobstructed view of the ocean.

A wall with the phrase: every yes has a no, we are all maybe.

Indigo or royal blue? During my time in Portugal, Lisbon presented itself with a beautiful sky, the most beautiful I had ever imagined seeing. Later I discovered that it's almost always like that.