Possivelmente Aqui
Projeto realizado por 5 anos em um asilo no Rio de Janeiro. Como desdobramento deste projeto foram realizadas duas séries de trabalhos: Possivelmente Aqui e Veja Você.
"Carol Chediak has taught yoga as a volunteer at a nursing home for about five years since 2009. Chediak calmly built a relationship with them. As their stiff bodies relaxed, the elderly began to open their hearts and invited the author to their small bedrroms. A nursing home is a place where elderly people who are unrelated or in financial difficulty go to spend the end of their lives. Name, family, occupation, origin, what I gained and left behind through life... A small room for those who have been largely erased from society. In a room less than 3 pyeong in size where the user's presence will be erased, there is the same bed, the same nightstand, and a small window surrounded by iron bars. However, there are also efforts to transform a place into a place of one's own with large and small photos and items kept throughout one's life. Chediak focuses on the microhistory of individuals created in standardized spaces". Trecho do texto de apresentação escrito pela curadora coreana Sookyeong Jung (Meemee Young)
Texto completo de apresentação (botão) https://stibee.com/api/v1.0/emails/share/1ANGvlUdSRVJPTy8S22-fFxgoAV2CBc
A série de fotografias Possivelmente Aqui é não só uma homenagem àqueles que não estão mais aqui, mas um contraponto ao apagamento de existências a partir da permanência de suas imagens e histórias. A série completa contém 16 imagens, aqui são apresentadas 8 imagens, sendo 4 dípticos.
Possivelmente Aqui - Esther
2012 / 60x40 cada
fotografia digital impressão em papel algodão
Possivelmente Aqui - Valemira
2012 / 60x40 cada
fotografia digital impressão em papel algodão
Possivelmente Aqui - Salvador
2012 / 60x40 cada
fotografia digital impressão em papel algodão
Possivelmente Aqui - Maria Enir
2012 / 60x40 cada
fotografia digital impressão em papel algodão
Possivelmente Aqui - Vivaldo
2012 / 60x40 cada
fotografia digital impressão em papel algodão
Possivelmente Aqui - Rubens
2012 / 60x40 cada
fotografia digital impressão em papel algodão
Possivelmente Aqui - Esther
2012 / 60x40 cada
fotografia digital impressão em papel algodão
Possivelmente Aqui - Antonio
2012 / 60x40 cada
fotografia digital impressão em papel algodão
Possivelmente Aqui - Dia da entrega dos retratos
trecho do vídeo de 6'10"
Exposição Individual
Possibly Here (Possivelmente Aqui)
2023
Galeria Domansa
Seul, Coréia do Sul
Exposição individual do projeto Possivelmente aqui realizada na Galeria Domansa em Seul, Coréia do Sul, em 2023, com curadoria da coreana Sookyeong Jung (Meemee Young). A exposição foi produzida pela Tuck on Hand, produtora e editora fundada por Sookyeong Young, Jinhyuk (magazine.curator) e Ciel Jong. As três criaram juntas o projeto Blind Essay Project, que foi um desdobramento da exposição permitindo que a artista estivesse em contato mais próximo com o público coreano. Elas convidaram cinco autores coreanos para escreverem cinco ensaios a partir das suas experiências com as imagens do trabalho e do texto escrito pela artista.
"Movement is not limited to spatial movement. Since photos act as a door to turn back the tense, they would have kept going back. Perhaps, it was because the tense of elderly people entering and exiting more frequently than the present was the past. Carol took photos of them in their own rooms and presented them as gifts after developing them. They displayed it in their rooms or stuck them on the walls. In between the walls of the past, there are photographs that speak to the present. Like another signboard, like another destination.
In a space where the elderly gather, you witness small and large deaths every day. Send well wishes, including the hospitalization of a member who used to gather in front of the TV, the doctor's visit and funeral, news of someone being unconscious, and so on. Death becomes a natural topic of life, as close as dancing. And envy passes between conversations, such as Santinha's word "Lucky man, he slept and never woke up again"." (Excerpt from the text written by Lee Hown titled Here, Possibly)
"The combination of incomplete humans and useless items might seem lacking, but when the two meet, there is a strange sense of stability. I felt this in Carol's work, in the room of an elderly person. At the same time, I imagined my old age." (Excerpt from the text written by Lee Yeon titled Ïn October 2023, Como, Italy)
Read the 5 Korean Essays https://page.stibee.com/archives/281029
Video de divulgação da exposição produzido pela Tuck on hand
It is in your house too (trecho do Text by curator Song Geun-young)
“Valdemira had so much energy that he didn’t have the patience to wait for me to get up the ramp, but as soon as he saw me at the top he said, “ Good morning, darling!” He shouted. Then, announcing my arrival loudly, I gathered the chairs together, formed a circle, and called everyone around me. No matter what mood I was in that day, Mira’s energy changed my mind and attitude toward that encounter.” (trecho retirado das notas da artista sobre Valdemira)
"«Possibly, Here» There is a topic that I personally ask as an official question to visitors to the exhibition hall. The question is to ask who among the main characters in the portraits touches your heart the most. Many people point to Valdemira. She is wearing a light green top and smiling broadly at the camera slightly below while holding her doll. It's the only photo where the angle is crooked, and someone said it was probably because it was taken while they were talking and laughing. Although the specific reasons may vary, it is clear that the energy Carol felt when meeting her is conveyed through her photos.
In addition, it is not difficult to name the characters that capture one's heart and the reasons for them, such as Salvador, who always keeps his back straight, Vivaldo, who is full of playfulness, and Estelle, who exudes warmth like the sunlight shining on her. It is an unfamiliar and surprising experience to hear various people, regardless of gender and age, talk about the moments when they are captivated and inspired by 'old people'."
Texto curatorial completo https://stibee.com/api/v1.0/emails/share/SrNWUW0tgY2MvBRFXXiA-1MCldmdRxQ
Texto completo das notas da artista sobre o projeto (pdf)
Imagens da Exposição Possibly Here
Seul, Coreia do Sul, 2023
Trecho da entrevista realizada pela curadoria:
The room structures may be the same, but whether I read the artist notes or simply gauge the atmosphere, each one is truly unique. Were there any unexpected or amusing episodes that stood out during the shooting?
The process of photographing them was slow and thoughtful, spanning over one year. I was careful not to make them feel obligated or uncomfortable about taking pictures with me. It became amusing when, at a certain point, some of them started asking why I hadn't taken their picture yet or when I planned to do so. There was even a lady named Georgina whom I photographed twice within a six-month interval because she didn't remember that I had already taken a picture and insisted that I do it again. Of course, I did it with joy.
In Carol's artist notes, the residents of Bethania Nursing Home come across as incredibly innocent and childlike, defying any easy estimation of their age. Each character, as portrayed through Carol's words, emerges as distinctly multi-dimensional, unaffected by the creases of time. It makes one ponder, what does 'old age' truly mean? It seems like a time for a new perspective. I'm curious to know how Carol perceives and defines 'old age.'
In Casa de Betania, the yoga sessions involved a gentle practice performed mostly in chairs, allowing even those using wheelchairs to participate. At that time, Casa de Betania had around thirty residents, yet my classes typically had around fifteen attendants. This prompts the question: What did these fifteen elderly individuals have in common? It's less about yoga and more about the fact that those individuals were still aware and responsible for their feelings and actions. Their identity wasn't intricately connected with a sense of victimization.
It is impossible to go through this life without experiencing suffering, and as frightening as it may be, those with a deeper interest in life navigate such moments with the wisdom of someone here to learn from life. In Casa de Betania, I realized that some residents were engulfed in depression and disinterested in life, while others radiated vitality, caring for themselves and those around them. From this experience, I've learned that I'm not here to seek the meaning of life but to live as vibrantly as possible, grateful for this incredible opportunity.
Hopefully, one day, if I am fortunate enough to grow older, I can contemplate this subject from a different perspective and gain new insights. Perhaps with all my Casa de Betania friends and the fond memories from life sitting beside me in the morning sunshine, planning my next day.