REBORDINHO: A PORTRAYED VILLAGE
Photographic and audiovisual exhibition
Former Primary School of Rebordinho (municipality of Vouzela)
Opening: Wednesday, July 26th at 19h00

Opening period: July 27th to 30th, from 10h00 to 18h00
From August 1st, the exhibition will be available to be visited by appointment, by calling to +351 968 704 063.

The exhibition “Rebordinho: A portrayed village”, which opens on July 26th at 7:00 p.m., resulted from a challenge launched during a conversation between representatives of Binaural Nodar and the Board of Directors of the Common Land of Rebordinho and Malhadouro, so that the building of the old elementary school of the village, without any relevant use until then, could host regular cultural initiatives. Having Binaural Nodar carried out in the recent past several projects that involved the collection of old photographs from communities in various villages in the Viseu region, the decision was made that the first initiative to be programmed would be precisely an exhibition resulting from s collection of old photographs in the village of Rebordinho.

What can a photographic exhibition with almost two hundred images provided by inhabitants of a village, such as Rebordinho, and covering almost a century of duration, tell us? Right away, and in a quick “bird flight”, we notice some obvious changes: the technological evolution of image capture, from black and white to color, the poses that are no longer so formal to be more relaxed or the clothing used, which used to be woven, cut and sewn locally and later came to be bought at fairs or in village stores, much of it being already imported from other countries.

Nevertheless, these initial observations are ultimately reductive, for perhaps the most important thing about the photographic exhibition “Rebordinho: A portrayed village” is something else, and consists in the awareness of the rapid transformation of a rural world that lived, until half a century ago, in an absolute state of subsistence, with an economy based on family agricultural production and the occasional sale of animals, products and services: blacksmith, mason, carpenter, clog maker, basket maker, potter, weaver, confectioner, fish seller, etc.., with many people walking across the landscape to other villages or to a nearby market to sell animals and other products or to close deals on the next handicrafts.

The immense work involved in digitizing and cataloguing these almost two hundred photographs, going to families’ homes (more than fifty people provided photographs) asking for the names of the people portrayed or the contexts in which they were taken, contrasting doubts with various inhabitants, produced a true cultural and memory panel, which suggests many questions. Who were those distant people depicted in the older photos? Where did they live? To which countries did they emigrate? Brazil? France? Switzerland? Or did they always stay in the village? Which were the most influential families in the village of Rebordinho? Who were their caretakers? What professions did people have? Who were the characters in the village that many people still remember? Who married whom? Who is whose son, nephew or grandson? What life path did the children photographed outside the elementary school have?

This exhibition, which is the result of a work by Liliana Silva, in collaboration with the current inhabitants of the village of Rebordinho, is a profound reflection on the passage of time. Many of the people portrayed have passed away and this inexorable fact of life itself makes us think that perhaps the photos that were taken of those people, on a certain day and place many years ago, are the only physical evidence that remained of them.

Finally, the exhibition “Rebordinho: A portrayed village” allows an infinity of readings and teachings to the most recent generations, since today’s families are the result of so many fortuitous meetings and events of their predecessors and, as such, many of those who will be before this magnificent panel of time, will be able to understand that these photos tell real stories, small patches of everyday life spent in the beautiful village that is Rebordinho.

A thank you to all the people who provided photographs for the exhibition: Abílio Silva, Adriano Rodrigues, Alzira Tavares, Amélia Marcos, Ana Pereira, Anabela Lopes, Antero Tavares, António Batista, António Carvalho, António Souto, António Tavares, Aventino Pereira, Celeste Fernandes, Cristina Rodrigues, Dolores Rodrigues, Ermelinda Lopes, Francelina Lopes, Graça Lopes, Helena Souto, Isabel Correia, Isabel Ribeiro, João Paulo Batista, José Luís Tavares, José Pereira, José Ribeiro, Laura Tavares, Lúcia Tavares, Lurdes Pereira, Maria Assunção Pereira, Maria das Dores Silva, Maria de Lurdes Tavares, Natália Fontes, Paula Dias, Piedade Silva, Regina Soares, Roberto Santos, Sara Ferreira, Sylvie Fernandes and Teresa Tavares.

Credits:

A co-production between Binaural Nodar and the Board of Directors of the Common Land of Rebordinho and Malhadouro, with support from the Municipality of Vouzela.
Field work, design and editing by Liliana Silva.

Binaural Nodar is a cultural entity financially supported by the Portuguese Government – Culture | General Directorate for the Arts.