tempo abotoado

Tempo Abotoado was born from my fascination with how time feels not how it ticks. I wanted to see what happens when I pause the rush of reality and look closer through something as small and ordinary as a button. It became a surreal journey of coexistence, four perspectives folded into one fleeting moment. Through this work, I invite the viewer to look through a button as if it were a portal to pause, to breathe, to resist the velocity of our world and rediscover the slow rhythm of life. 

Tempo Abotoado — literally “Buttoned Time” — comes from the Portuguese abotoar, meaning “to button up.” Beyond its literal sense, “to fasten a piece of clothing“, it also evokes containment, care, and stillness. 

In 2016, Tempo Abotoado was selected for the contemporary art festival Paratissima Lisboa, where it won first prize in the ParaPhoto category, and was later exhibited at Paratissima Torino in November 2016.

Note: only an excerpt of the photographic series is presented here. The full work and experience is intended for exhibition.

A woman in a black top and blue jeans looks up at a large photo collage on a textured white wall. The collage contains various blurry, dimly lit images.
  • View of a man standing by a body of water seen through a round opening in a chain-link fence, with a seagull on the shore and a cityscape in the distance.
  • View of a waterfront with two people standing near the railing, trees, and a distant statue on a hill, seen through circular gaps in a dark object, with overcast or foggy weather.
  • A partially visible bed with floral and purple bedding, a window with frosted glass, a vinyl record, and graffiti spelling 'Reis' on a beige wooden wall, with an earthy patterned rug on the floor.
  • Photo taken through a lens with multiple circular openings, showing a sunset sky with two birds flying and a building with reflective windows, a chimney, and power lines in the background.
  • A person lying on the ground covered with autumn leaves, with a park or outdoor setting illuminated by artificial lighting at night.
  • View from above of a man walking on a sidewalk pulling a blue rolling suitcase, seen through three small gaps or holes in the camera lens or security device.
  • The image shows two people playing frisbee on a grassy field, viewed through binoculars. In the background, there are trees and a house with a red roof under a partly cloudy sky.
  • Person with curly hair and glasses standing next to a red bicycle, looking at their phone, near a body of water during sunset.