Dead Palms
Project, text and exhibition design Ursa
English editing Pamela Young
Graphic design Alberto Antoniazzi
The arrival of the red palm weevil in Porto circa 2010 marked the beginning of a notorious process of urban transformation. The pest attacked a great number of the city palms, disfiguring a distinctive attribute of the urban landscape.
But as the decline of these symbols anticipates their demise, the very process of rotting accentuates the palms’ monumentality.
The lifeless bodies of dried fibers stand out in their surroundings as they never did in their lush past, producing a powerful tension of decay that is breaking down the physical evidence of a culture, and thus questioning the identity of the city.
Resources:
Exhibition Booklet