Apr 20, 2020
MONØkult Interview: David Gonçalves
Homebound Series — Searching through Fear & Abandonment
A camera serves as a photographer’s mere yet sole extension of his eyes and mind. However, the way a photographer intricately alters his reality to extract lightness from darkness is what makes an image-maker exceptional.
Lisbon-born David Gonçalves believes in the immemorial ink that photography brings to the world. The way he weaves a visual story can only be completed when his viewers are able to interpret his photographs. To him, savoring the moment before it vanishes is the most essential part of his photographic process.
In 2018, David worked on a photo book entitled Umbra with a mission to discover religious entities and war fragments amidst the darkness and emptiness of what he encounters throughout his visual quests. In this work, he used photography as a tool in “saving what is yet to die.”
In his latest work, Aleixo, David explores the neighborhood which houses the largest drug supermarket in Northern Portugal. Set to be demolished due to severe drug trafficking, Barrio de Alexio and its families are struggling to beat the war against police authorities.
Aleixo is set to be launched this year. Meanwhile, details in English are here.
We’re All Homebound
For this timely, but hopefully short-lived, installment of MONØkult Feature called Homebound Series, I am requesting selected photographers to unravel their creativity and capture 10 images in their confined, personal spaces. These are David’s.
David’s bodies of work encompasses remnants from various European lands. Aside from Lisbon, he also frequents Porto, Saravejo, Kiev, and Berlin, among others. Exploring the outside world is part of his DNA as an image-maker, which is why the corona virus outbreak affects his workflow, but not entirely in a bad way.
Asked about how he deals with today’s global pandemic, David shares:
Now’s the right time to stop for a while and look for “new-old” images. This is a good chance to reflect about our projects and what we do as artists.
More Info on David Gonçalves
Portfolio: davidgoncalves.site
Instagram: @ ni3tzch3_is_d3ad
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