The artist presents drawings and paintings at Museu Nacional Frei Manuel do Cenáculo National Museum, in Évora, Portugal, from July 23rd till October 9th. The film, Ana and Maurizio by Catarina Mourão is also shown as a complement.
The project focusses on the city of Benares (or Varanasi) in India and in four travelers and their connections: Xuang Zang (7th Century), a Chinese Buddhist monk; Elena d’Aosta (1871-1951), a French princess; Maurizio Piscicelli (1871-1917) an Italian soldier and the artist’s uncle; and Ana Marchand herself. In the artist’s words (in her official website), “I bring together in this project three other travelers who at different moments have spent time in the same city and left their testimonies in texts and images”.
“I bring together in this project three other travelers who at different moments have spent time in the same city and left their testimonies in texts and images”
The exhibition Four Notebooks of Benares, curated by Manuel Costa Cabral, presents paintings and drawings produced between 1991 and 2021. At the same time, and during the exhibition, the film Ana and Maurizio by Catarina Mourão is presented. It is centered partly in the Benares project and in the artist’s family. According to the film’s synopsis, it “follows Ana’s familiar and spiritual journey. Who was Maurizio? Who is Ana? The face of one, the face of the other. Reincarnation is the several lives we live”.
