ENGENHOCA
In the first days of September 2021, Til collective was invited to integrate the project Mapas Natureza and spend 5 days in an artistic retreat in the mountain region of Caramulo.
With the help of our guides, Paulo and Leonor, we tracked people with strong ties to local building arts. We had the good fortune of finding Mr. José, a tried carpenter and expert in oxen carts and wine barrels, among other things. From our mutual acquaintance the original idea for an intervention in the landscape started to emerge.
A small rock dam used to produce a river beach captured our attention. Recent storms had left a variety of debris from fallen trees on its path, this became the working basis for our intervention. The idea, inspired by river mills and other river devices in the area, was to construct a superfluous contraption made of logs fallen on the riverbanks. With the help of Mr. José and Paulo we started to search for a shape.
Using only the riverbank logs we started making boards, beams and slats. From these we assembled a great spoon, something between a water gutter and a catapult. The idea was to return these materials to their place of origin transformed into a new existence, in the process leaving the place better than how we found it.
We used Mr. José’s expertise all throughout, for example, in the way we attached the “spoon” to its structure, using the same method of oxen carts’ connection between axle and wheels. Between a catapult and something else, the contraption ended up resulting in a refreshing mechanical waterfall.
The finished piece reflects the histories of the people and places we had the good fortune of meeting. And like many other well-lived stories, it ended with a big party.
Type of Project: Instalation
Place: Vouzela
Date: Agosto, September, 2021
Duração: 1 week
Promoter: MAPAS Natureza
Design and Construction: Colectivo Til Sr. José, Paulo Novo.
Photography: Colectivo Til, Idalécio Francisco, Miguel Ferraz, Paulo Novo.
Production: Miguel Ferraz, Vasco Silva, Paulo Novo, Leonor Alcoforado.
Collaborations: Sr. José, Paulo Novo.