«LAGOA»

The work developed by Carla Cabanas through her pieces is centred in questioning the boundaries of the photographic image and its relationship with painting. This line of thought was explored before by other artists, namely by Gerhard Richter, whose work encompassed the opposite movement of Cabanas’, meaning, through painting reach, and question, the photographic eye.
In Cabanas, this means of expression is not assumed as the research field for a body of work, but rather as a tool in the creation of that body. Thus, the focus is channelled to exploration and experimentation of the process, which goes through techniques such as the placing of painted glass in front of the lens, over-exposition, overlaying of images, and others. The goal is to take the realism away from the real image, studying the edges of shape, the blots of colour and the usage of light. Most part of this processual research happens during the captioning act, a prolonged moment of analysis of all the composite elements of space. Just like if it were a painting (and often bearing in mind some existing paintings) Cabanas visualizes the complete image, the display, the blur, the light, in order to find the precise balance, the exact moment, of the perfect image.

FILIPA OLIVEIRA