The spirit of the beehive
O Espírito da Comeia (The spirit of the beehive) started from an ethnographic research on beekeeping in the village of Várzea de Calde. As honey has been used as food since the dawn of civilization, it was interesting to see how a community located in an environmental context of great diversity in terms of the autochthonous flora has specialized over time in the production of products derived from the rational breeding of bees (various subspecies of Apis mellifera) such as bee pollen, propolis, wax and honey itself.
The contents of the virtual exhibition are: “The Bees of the Invisible” (four-channel sound installation); “Enxame” (photographic installation); “Astros” (video performance); “The Beekeeper’s Inventory” (objects and plants); all by Manuela Barile, who had the assistance and collaboration of beekeepers from the village of Várzea de Calde. During the ethnographic investigation carried out in July and August 2018, numerous collections were carried out: interviews with beekeepers, soundscapes, recordings of the honey extraction process, which are part of the Memory archive of Várzea de Calde. The exhibition consists of different photographic, sound and video elements, closely linked to each other, to recreate the magical and sacred world of bees and beekeepers and make it known to the visiting public.
Manuela Barile is an Italian artist who, over the years, has developed a vast set of works of ethnographic research, audiovisual artistic creation and performances based on places in the rural areas of Viseu Dão Lafões, working in close contact with local communities. Her artistic practice is a continuous and profound investigation about life, about being in the world, about the landscape, about the meaning of places and about “dwelling” in its broadest meaning. As a vocal performer, she carried out a personal journey of vocal experimentation applied to free improvisation and based on Extended Vocal Techniques focused on the relationship between voice, body, soundscape and acoustic properties of places. Parallel to her artistic practice, she develops workshops on sound art, vocal performance and performing art aimed at children and young people.