Palindromo / Palindrome

Palindromo / Palindrome is the third exhibition of the In the Present Now series, a cycle dedicated to exploring the current moment through the lens of ideas articulated by Italo Calvino in Six Memos for the Next Millennium (1998). Reflecting on the concept of speed, which Calvino associates with the notion of the immediate, this exhibition delves into the idea of the palindrome and fosters a dialogue between the artist Rui Calçada Bastos (PT) and the collective mountaincutters (FR/BE).

A palindrome is defined as a word, phrase, or number that reads the same forwards and backwards. By eliminating a preferential reading direction, it catalyzes the understanding of a flexible, non-linear conception of time filled with multiple layers where beginnings and endings intertwine. In a poetic sense, Palindrome does not merely address the speed of arrival but highlights the multiplicity of enduring experiences that can be found along a journey. The works featured in this exhibition arise from a time when execution, duration, and erasure converge, pointing to a place of vacuity.