Luis Miguel de Matos
Born in Lagos, Portugal.
Luis brings us the mythologization of a love story.
Drawing it from mythological and cultural references, The title "A wagon full of devils and the lovers strife" is inspired in a line from the I Ching that deals with the end of a relationship. It shows his concerns about the aftermath of the break-up.
He hopes the work promotes cultural acceptance and inspires curiosity about other nations, as it tells the tale using stories from various cultures.
The more than 100 drawings were made in 2020, during the pandemic, and were colored from 2023 to 2024. Of these, 56 were chosen to appear in the exhibition. The exhibition also features a sculpture also made in 2020.
Like those days when the light goes out.
When the internet and television box for some reason don't work, I insist and press the buttons on the remote, perhaps it's bad contact. For the first time I feel the pad of the controller and I feel a click underneath that perhaps has never happened before.
Not like the days when the power goes out, and after one or two attempts I consider the case closed. Suddenly the adrenaline appears, just like when I was little and my mother or father would tell me to go look for a candle.
Not like the days when the electricity goes out, without the satisfaction that we are all deprived of electricity, the world is more still and half dreaming. Better when it happens at night, the house is cozier. During the day it seems like the day gets longer and the hustle of finding the candle doesn't happen, instead, a feeling very similar to the long walks you had to take to return from a far away but very dear place. The tiredness prior to an arduous task that is yet to be completed.
Nothing has changed, the day is the same and if you went wherever you were going by bike, the bike continues to cycle.
When you're not here.
When the controller's batteries are missing, it's another matter. It seems like something is wrong, I can't explain it, the box doesn't turn on but it's there in front of you, the sound doesn't come out, but I press it in the usual place, the light doesn't blink, and I insist.
Worse is when the controller light comes on but still nothing happens.
After half an hour of loading, the television miraculously turns on, it seems that the hope that had jumped out suddenly returned to its place and with relief I let my hand drop, my shoulders sigh. However, the TV is taking a little longer than usual to show the image, occasionally appearing with hiccups and with lines crossing the screen. I contract my hands and place my feet on the table in the faith that it is going to start, but I am uncertain that it would be as good as before.
Every moment more tense and with my eyes crinkling, I threaten the television in anticipation. The damn inanimate object doesn't cheer me up today, the bars passing by are intolerable, the desynchronized sound is full of noise.
I turn off the television with force and disdain, source of such frustration. Struggling with the remote just to see the little light flashing, I can't resist, I give it a few seconds and I go back at it in disbelief at what had happened. God cannot do this.
It was certainly me who didn't see well, who was quick to turn it off, maybe if I give it a little more time it will heat up, the bars will disappear, and the sound return to normal.
Who knows, this time the bars might not even appear, it might just turn on like other times. I throw my hand at the control and try to turn it on again. But of course, it doesn't turn on the first time nor the second time, after all, it's not like this last hour didn't happen, I feel the frustration of trying to turn on the television again, now weighed down by the countless previous attempts. Back to the game, sighing, I press the button, I've forgotten the bars and the sound that seemed to roar, I've forgotten that I don't want to watch television like this, it's not the same thing. I'm around the button again, and that the damn light turns on, reacts, responds to the command, that's now my only concern. I already forgot that the probability of the image appearing clear is small, a few more minutes on this and I can say that even with bars I can see the program and the sound I can always turn off.
When you're not here.
It wasn't the neighborhood or the city that stopped, I don't see the nearby neighbors on their balconies, no one goes out to see where the lamps have gone out, how far the network stops.
And you're not.
And this fucking remote.
You're not.
The little light that went out now appears out of sync with the button pad.
No, you're not.
I don't know if this crap clicked before.
I continue to press the button, sure that when everything is working I will definitely remember if it clicks.
I almost swear so and I continue to press convinced that the television will turn on by miracle, or not, even if it doesn't turn on or the bars appear, it will make that click under the controller pad.
I swear this used to click and the light would blink and I could watch movies.
You're not here today and I don't know if you'll ever be here again.
I lose the desire to watch television.
I'm going to stop smoking.