In the Garden of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, my artist film "Modern Woman (2005)" was presented as part of a cycle of videos from the CAM Collection. The artist film tells the story of a ‘modern’ Portuguese woman in the mid-20th century who seeks to escape the monotony of her everyday life by taking refuge in the images and stories published in magazines such as Life/Vogue and others which feed her imagination and illustrate and influence her daily life.
The film interweaves moments from the life of my dear and loved Godmother Tigita ( Judite Davide da Fonseca) with news from around the world such as the devastation of Europe after the Second World War, examining how the press drove the dissemination of the values of a modern society that led to the inception of feminism in Portugal. Tigita taught me about many things and was a role model of a woman in my childhood. I dreamt with her the other day, and awoke crying. I moved to Sweden in 2007 and stopped seeing her so much. Much guilt was felt in my soul for having left behind my dear Tigita. But I know you are listening to me, Tigita, and that you forgive me. As you once said, you would be immortalised. I know your soul still travels and grows. With love.
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