Binaural/Nodar opened yesterday, 2/12, at the Municipal Library of Castro Daire the multimedia exhibition “The Time of Things” by Luis Gomes da Costa and Liliana Silva, conceived from a nine-month collective work with users of the Misericórdia de Castro Daire.
The project gathered and expressed the personal memories of fifteen users of the aforementioned IPSS through a particular type of symbolic elements – some personal objects endowed with soul, root and/or utility – invoking thus the very root of the word heritage: PATER – of the father, MONIUM – state, action or condition. The Roman Patrimonium was therefore the inheritance, that which was passed on to future generations: lands, houses, tools, animals or everyday objects.
In addition to the objects whose stories they told, the people who collaborated with the project guided the authors through places in their respective localities imbued with special significance for them: a hill with mysterious holed stones, a holy fountain, a wayside cross where the transhumance flock used to pass, an old primary school, an old abandoned fulling mill, a vegetable garden, a dam, etc., the sounds and voices of these places constituting the soundscape that surrounds the exhibition hall.
The opening was attended by a large audience, among whom were the Mayor of the Municipality of Castro Daire, Dr. Paulo Almeida, and the Provider of the Misericórdia de Castro Daire, Mr. Leonel Ferreira, it being our duty to thank with affection and personal admiration the residents who participated in the project: Antero Cardoso Ribeiro (Parada de Ester), António Lourenço Pinto (Alva), António Jorge Pereira Monteiro (Vila Seca, Pinheiro), Carlos de Almeida Simões (Adenodeiro, Moledo), Fernando Duarte Chança (Gosende), Fernando Rocha Ferreira (Alva), Graça Maria Lucena Mendes (Vila Pouca, Castro Daire), Jacinto Monteiro Rei (Lamelas de Lá, Castro Daire), José Manuel de Almeida (Vila Meã, Moledo), Laura Maria Correia Pinto (Castro Daire), Marciano Silva (Balteiro, Moledo), Maria Armandina Costa Oliveira Duarte (Gosende), Maria Joaquina Paiva dos Santos (São Joaninho), Martinho Augusto Rocha Foutinho (Mamouros) and Valentim da Costa Gomes (Gosendinho, Gosende).
Lastly, we pay tribute, on the one hand, to the technical team of the Misericórdia de Castro Daire who accompanied the project through all its phases, Joana Sá Melo and Tiago Alves Farreca, and, on the other hand, to the team of the Castro Daire Municipal Culture Centre, directed by Marta Carvalhal, for their fantastic availability during the setting up of the exhibition and for including this opening in the context of the official closing event of the European Year of Cultural Heritage in the municipality of Castro Daire.
