PΛ́SSΛЯO SOL

Curated by João Laia and João Terras
Galeria Municipal do Porto — 14.03 — 14.06.2026

Commissions is a new initiative by Galeria Municipal do Porto dedicated to supporting the creation of original, previously unseen works. In this inaugural edition, five artists are brought together — Mauro Cerqueira, Joana Escoval, Sara Graça, Catarina Miranda, and Mariya Nesvyetaylo. These new works emerge from places of desire and from renewed experimentation within each artist’s practice.

With PΛ́SSΛЯO SOL Catarina Miranda continues her ongoing research, transitioning from dance—live and on stage—to an installation conceived for the gallery space. Drawing on Allegory of the Cave by Plato, this new creation examines how dynamics of perception, deception, and transmission shape contemporary human experience.

Conceived as a simulacrum, the installation takes form as a fictional place of shapes and shadows where it is possible to experience the interior while simultaneously observing the outer summit of a mountain-labyrinth. Through the manipulation of the senses, the artist questions the boundaries between the real and the imaginary, inviting reflection on how reality is understood on both individual and collective levels. This playful dimension arises from the combination of technical and scenographic devices, expressed through the layering of shadows, the distortion of colors, the spatialization of bird sounds, and images of moving bodies that seem to dance across surfaces.

The work evokes references such as the Théâtre du Grand-Guignol of Oscar Méténier and the Theatre of the Absurd of Samuel Beckett, the iconic gestures of dance by Pina Bausch, and the figures of the dancers in Dance (La Danse) by Henri Matisse. PÁSSARO SOL is a place of permanence in Catarina Miranda’s imagination, consolidated throughout her research into her most recent stage works, ΛƬSUMOЯI (2025) and FΛRSΛ (2026).

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Title: PΛ́SSΛЯO SOL — BIRD SUN
Year: 2026
Technical specifications: colored fiberglass surfaces, video and light projections, multichannel sound
Dimensions: variable
Courtesy of Catarina Miranda
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TEAM
Architecture and Landscape Builders — Colectivo Febre — André Pipa, Gui Silvestre, Noah Leijssen
Creation Support — João Brojo, Jonathan Saldanha
Sound Design — Jonathan Saldanha
Sound Spatialization — José Arantes
Lighting — Catarina Miranda, João Brojo, João Ferreira
Camera — João Brojo
Video Editing — Catarina Miranda
Executive Production — João Brojo
Administrative Production — Teresa Camarinha / RÁRA
Footage Courtesy — Calau Rinoceronte — Museu das Convergências / Coleção Távora Sequeira Pinto
Support and Acknowledgements — CACE - Central Eléctrica, Teatro Municipal do Porto, SOOPA, Miguel Silva, Dr. Álvaro Sequeira Pinto

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https://www.galeriamunicipaldoporto.pt/EN/programas/das-exposicoes/comissoes

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©Lais Pereira / Galeria Municipal do Porto