RE-CAMÕES

In the context of the celebration of the 5th centenary of the birth of Luís de Camões, the exhibition Re-Camões complements a film programme by presenting, in the lobby of the Auditorium of Casa do Cinema Manoel de Oliveira, a selection of publications, artists’ books, and works from the Serralves Collection, in dialogue with documentation from the Manoel de Oliveira Archive.

Since the publication of Os Lusíadas (The Lusiads), the epic poem that celebrates the glories of the “homeland”’s destiny, there have been numerous political and propagandistic appropriations of both the work and the figure of Camões. Yet many contemporary artists have also drawn inspiration from this national icon to produce critical reinterpretations of his poetics, to question the present, and deconstruct contradictions within the Lusitanian imaginary.

Examples of this include Manoel de Oliveira’s “Non” ou a Vã Glória de Mandar (“Non” or The Vain Glory of Command, 1990) and O Velho do Restelo (2014), or the iconoclastic citations of Camões’ lyrical poetry in the cinema of João César Monteiro. Also evident are the work of artists such as Lourdes Castro, as well as in the contributions of some key figures of Portuguese Experimental Poetry — notably Ernesto M. de Melo e Castro (from whom the title of this programme and exhibition is borrowed), Ana Hatherly, Álvaro Neto, and Fernando Aguiar — who, since the 1960s, have continually revisited the work of their illustrious predecessor, highlighting his poetic inventiveness and promoting its subversive potential.

Not by chance, the so-called Disparates da Índia (Follies of India), attributed to Camões, were included in the first anthology notebook of Experimental Poetry, edited by António Aragão and Herberto Helder in 1964 (at the height of the Colonial War, no less...). In other terms, we must also consider how, at the same time, Amália Rodrigues sang Camões, proposing a bold fusion between fado and erudite poetry — which, at the time, was controversial. Or, more recently, how a kind of pop neo-nationalism, such as that represented by the band Heróis do Mar, marked the landscape of modern music in Portugal.

This brief overview — film series, discussions, and exhibition — seeks only to offer a glimpse into the multiplicity of appropriations that the figure and work of Camões have undergone, while also attempting to anticipate and reflect on the possible uses the future might reserve for them.

This brief overview — film programme, talks, and exhibition — aims to offer a glimpse into the multiplicity of appropriations that the figure and work of Camões have undergone, while also attempting to anticipate and reflect on the possible uses the future might reserve for them.

* This exhibition is accessible whenever there are activities taking place in the lobby of the Auditorium of Casa do Cinema Manoel de Oliveira.