Parede

Prior to my work period titled A Diplomat’s Walk into the Small Infinite at Manifold Books I had taken on the task of translating philosopher’s José Gil’s book Portugal, Today: The Fear of Existing into English, to experience a disturbing inhabitation of the author’s words. Parallel to this writing, that turned out to be a search for friction rather than fluidity, I inscribed my presence in the space of Manifold Books via graphite wall rubbings on paper. I divided the wall into sections and each row of tracings have been printed in a series of 32 booklets including a text on inhabitation as an act of miscommunication. The entire series of booklets has been printed in an edition of two. In this way, the publication ‘Parede’ inscribes the wall of Manifold Books into its own collection.

This was also an experiment in writing a text where I am assuming my position as diplomat to work through the experience of exploring two very different ways of inhabiting a space/text as act of miscommunication, questioning many of my assumptions surrounding how I situate myself, how do I embody my practice.