Waiting for the Mermaid

Night

On the longest night of the year, the heat rises from the earth as we walk along the weir that breaks the river's journey. The rumour of the water emerges from the silence, a small yellow light shines on the bush and then another and another - the fireflies dance and illuminate our steps. Up ahead, crickets and cicadas sing wildly. Together, insects, water and night announce the summer. Text by Cristina Brito/ Sound by Jaime Silva/ Cover by Jaime Silva

The shapeshifter

Born swimming, she now lives in a human bathtub surrounded by strange voices. The pearls dangling from the strands braided with green algae and the shells hanging from her arms tinkle. Her nails peel away layers of skin, the tattoos and the history they contain are torn away, the fish tail falls off and the pungent smell of the deep sea spreads through the house. The mermaid walks, a woman rises. Text by Cristina Brito. Curation Cristina Brito & Catarina Garcia. Sound by Jaime Silva. Cover by Jaime Silva

The Mermaid's Call

Am I the Mermaid? She calls out to her(self) and receives a cry, a plea, a reflection in the return of the projected sound wave. The mermaid sees herself in the mirror and her reflected voice appears distorted, difficult to understand. All sounds and words outside our own reality are difficult to interpret, but we continue to insist, to call out to those who are far away. I call the Mermaid. Text by Cristina Brito & Isabel Gomes de Almeida. Sound by Jaime Silva. Cover by Jaime Silva

Waiting for the Mermaid

Esperar a Sereia Quantas ondas são precisas Para esquecer o que se passou Quantos mares atravessar Para largar o que se sonhou Diz-me lá velha do mar O que diz o vento norte Quantos anos vão passar Para conhecer a minha sorte Devo contar grãos de areia Acender velas num altar Esperar avistar uma sereia E a minha angústia guardar Mas a velha sentada na praia Diz que o vento se calou Seja vontade de Deus ou do Mar Aquilo que sou, já mudou. Poem by Joana Baço. Curation Cristina Brito. Sound editing by Jaime Silva. Cover by Jaime Silva.

Mash up -Not a World of Ours

Breaking through the endless motion of human activity - the laughter, the walking, the talking, typing - every once in a while you can hear it. Waves crash into boats, becoming one with the sound of a child’s laugh, the conversations of work interrupted by the sudden screech of a seagull. In places where humans have long claimed supremacy, the sounds of nature are the ones who provide the rhythm and flow of life.  An elegant, vibrant, sometimes violent dance, the harshness of a coffee machine and the constant flow of words being written, seeking to bring the tides into the room, the drive to let your mind drift to where the watery worlds become one with the human landscape, a desire to reconnect to what the relentless engine of civilization appears to drown out. But through it all, we can reach it, we can grasp it. They are so close, yet not a world of ours. A world we belong to, not one we own. Let’s dance with it. Let’s sing with it - E o meu canto vai-te encontrar, que o teu canto fica comigo e aqui espero para te encontrar.  Sound by Jaime Silva. Text by Diogo Falcato & Cristina. Cover by Jaime Silva.