Presentation of research on linen at São Mateus Fair

THE ANCESTRAL VIBRATION OF LINEN

Exhibition of a collection of visual and sound postcards about the linen cycle in Várzea de Calde
August 22nd to 28th | Rua do Artesanato – São Mateus Fair (Viseu)

Presentation of a collection of postcards, book and CD about the linen cycle in Várzea de Calde
August 28th at 18:00 | Viriato Square – São Mateus Fair (Viseu)

Until half a century ago, there was no rural village in the north and center of Portugal where linen was not grown. The cultivation of linen responded to the ancestral needs of shelter, protection and comfort of the body (clothing or bedding), and it existed, as with other agricultural and livestock productions, in the context of an economy of subsistence, in which the majority of fabric production was for the use of the family, and the work (for example, spinning or weaving) or the final product (the fabrics) could be exchanged for other works or goods, or even, the surpluses could sold in the fairs that existed in the villages or main towns of the region.

In 2015, Binaural Nodar started a long research about the linen cycle in the village of Várzea de Calde (Civil Parish of Calde, Municipality of Viseu), in close collaboration with the Linen Museum of Várzea de Calde. As a result of this research, co-financed simultaneously by the Viseu Cultura Program of the Municipality of Viseu and by the Creative Europe Program (Tramontana network), a bilingual book (Portuguese and English) “Várzea de Calde: A village woven in linen” was published , the CD “The  linen and rural life songbook” by the Ethnographic Group of Várzea de Calde was released and dozens of sound and audiovisual recordings were made, which are now part of the Binaural Nodar Digital Archive and the Várzea de Calde Memory Archive.

Taking into account the sonic and plastic richness of the linen cycle in Várzea de Calde, Binaural Nodar designed twenty sound and visual postcards, entitled “The ancestral vibration of linen” and corresponding to each phase of the linen cycle, which will be presented in the form of an exhibition and a public presentation, in the context of the 2022 edition of the São Mateus Fair.

This collection of postcards had graphic design by Liliana Silva and sound composition by Luís Costa, being co-financed by the Municipality of Viseu and the Directorate-General for the Arts.