A sailing artwork in Porto
The exhibition “Act of the Ephemeral Ship” inaugurated last August 7th at the Soares dos Reis National Museum, in Porto. Curated by Atelier Ana Aragão and Paula Fortuna Oliveira, and with design by Andrew Howard, the exhibition is sponsored by BPI and the "La Caixa" Foundation, receiving institutional support from Círculo Dr. José de Figueiredo – Amigos do MNSR.
“The Act of the Ephemeral Ship” in the Soares dos Reis National Museum //
Photo by MMP | MNSR | Rui Pinheiro
What makes an exhibiton.. an exhibiton? Is it, by definition, the display of many artworks at once? If so, then “The Act of the Ephemeral Ship” is an exception: the space is occupied solely by a single piece, drawing curious eyes to its ondulating lines, as if they are lightly floating the ethereal golden space as well.
The “Act of the Ephemeral Ship” exhibition is the result of the intersection of Ana Aragão's contemporary screen and the historic Namban screens, artistic works that naturally resemble each other through certain formal affinities, but challenge each other by representing the intercultural relations — both ancestral and contemporary — between Japan and Portugal.
Namban folding screen //
Image by @DDF/ IMC, I.P in Conceição Borges de Sousa "Namban Folding screen" in "Discover Baroque Art", Museum With No Frontiers, 2025. source
Creating a Biombo (portuguese word for folding screen), as an idea and a sketch, was conceived during the long process of developing the exhibition "My Plan for Japan", following a Grant awarded to Ana by the Fundação do Oriente and presented at the Museu do Oriente in 2021. As a megalomaniac project on several levels — so the artist describes— it remained unattended and filed away in drawers for a few years. On the commemoration of the 480th anniversary of the arrival of the Portuguese in Japan, Ana was invited by the then Portuguese Ambassador of Japan, Dr. Vítor Sereno, to exhibit her work in Tokyo at the Hillside Gallery, a hallmark of Japanese Metabolism signed by the architect Fumihiko Maki.
"No Plan for Japan" became "My Plan for Japan", and the 12 70 x 100 cm sheets which gave rise to the folding screen, came out of the drawer. The commemorative occasion called for a new, symbolic, and hopefully iconic piece of art. The representation of a large ship inspired by the Kurofune depicted on the Nanban screens — yet with an ironic tone that contemporary reinterpretation demands — would have to adopt an equally unifying title, one that encompasses the ideas of narrative, heritage, reinvention, and contradiction. The Auto da Barca do Efémero was whispered to Ana by winds from the South, and it is precisely in Nagasaki that in 1543 the Nanban-jin entourage disembarks.
“The Act of the Ephemeral Ship” displayed in the exhibition “My Plan For Japan”, Tokyo Hillside Forum // Photos by Miguel C. Tavares
Following the Hillside Forum in the center of Tokyo, the artwork was displayed at the Portuguese Embassy in the capital, where it remained until April of this year. Then, as part of Portugal's official representation at Expo Osaka 2025, the Portuguese Pavilion hosted Ana’s piece to the thousands of visitors who passed through the space designed by Japanese Pritzker Kengo Kuma. The idea behind the design of the Biombo had been to take Portugal to Japan, almost half a century after the two cultures first came together. However, the journey seemed incomplete without a return. Intending to bring Osaka to Portugal, specifically to Porto and the Soares dos Reis National Museum, this Auto is now on the city where it was initially created and conceived.
Expo Osaka 2025, Portuguese Pavillion // Photos by Maho e Catarina Serrão
“The Act of The Ephemeral Ship" will stay in Soares dos Reis National Museum until November 30th 2025. The Museum is open from 10h to 18h daily, except Mondays.
“The Act of The Ephemeral Ship" inauguration at Soares dos Reis National Museum // Photos by Inês Santos
It is with the greatest pleasure that the artist gives a special thanks to:
Director António Ponte, Vitor Sereno, Andreia Direito , the Portuguese Embassy in Tokyo, Bernardo Amaral, Joana Gomes Cardoso, the Osaka Team, professor Alexandra Curvelo and professor Eduardo Paz Barroso, designer Andrew Howard, Dr. Paula Oliveira, Dr. Susana Medina , Daniela Coelho, Luís Barbosa, Miguel C. Tavares, Francisco Sendas, Inês Santos, and, especially, Patrícia Azevedo, in this piece that is no longer mine but ours, in the broadest sense possible.
