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Julião Sarmento in Constellations: a choreography of minimal gestures

The names used to refer to the different constellations are imbued with history, tradition, and myths. Imaginary clusters of stars have always been a source of fascination to humans. Perplexed by their surroundings, we have endeavoured to decipher our own origins in a mythical, cosmogonic space crisscrossed by superhuman intentions—an unlimited space—which also accommodates the conflicting desires of the gods. This longstanding fascination with the celestial sphere of our planet and the urge to investigate what we could see led stars and constellations to be included on maps and in myths in the form of varied signs and narratives. The human mind has thus perceived these luminous dots in the sky to be mysterious clues about the universe, life, and humanity. It was in this context that the constellation first appeared: in the midst of immortal, fixed stars, retaining a permanent reminder of collective and individual fates.

The exhibition is based on a central core of works in which the visuality of the constellatory form is explored in a more prominent manner; then comes a plethora of interventions spanning the other sections of the Berardo Collection along a loose (and conceptual) narrative thread centred on the philosophical concept of the constellation. The museum space is thus transformed into a place of experimentation, the result of a “choreography” of thought processes. The aim is to provide a conceptual representation of a research model for the collection which is constantly evolving and opens out onto a speculative, poetic horizon.