Voyager 01

Co-curator of the itinerant exhibition/installation Voyager 01, presented in Milan, London Lisbon and Barcelona.

Voyager was thought about as an installation and exhibition about Portuguese creativity and as a device of communication.

It began in 2001 and was conceived as an itinerant identity for the EXD Bienal, based on the metaphor of the probe, from which it took its name. During its 18 presentations across 6 countries, the project disseminated content produced by over 210 Portuguese creators. It was designed with a focus of mobility, to be shown in different places in Portugal and abroad, working on the notion of movement, displacement, open space, time and speed. From an itinerant modular system, it became, in 2003, a more autonomous device, allowing it to travel the European roads.

It constituted itself a motive, a possibility of creation, since all the presented content was unpublished. Voyager constantly explored and rehearsed new exhibition formats, looking for ways to more effectively reach the general public.

In this first edition, the mobile reflected a profile of experimentation, exploration and contagion between disciplines. It challenged several artists and designers to do so, seeking to portray contemporary Portuguese culture. V’01 brought together around 80 creators in the areas of ambient design, architecture, dance, fashion design, graphic design, industrial design, music, new media, photography, product design, sound design, video and visual arts. 

Starting from a modular concept, Voyager 01 was designed to be presented indoors, made up of four large modules. Altogether, the result was a vast chain of collaborations in diversified intersections, offering an interactive landscape of the most recent Portuguese creative production.

Conceived by GMG, Pedro Gadanho and João Paulo Feliciano, the four modules were designed by Miguel Vieira Baptista.

GMG curated “MÓDULO VERMELHO” and “MÓDULO AZUL” (Red and Blue module respectively), both exploring different vectors, intending to create potential changes in the perception of contents.

The first module integrated subjects of sound design, ambient design and light design, with works by House Lab – Rafael Toral and Rui Gato, in the areas of sound and music, and Vasco Gato, in the area of poetry. This defined the entrance of Voyager, looking to establish an interaction with the visitors through the intense use of colour and exploration of relationships between space, sound and literature. 

The second module integrated product and ambient design, as well as fashion design and video, creating a space for the projection of the videos Modus Operandi and Dancing Light. This module explored the concepts of space, time, colour and temperature, looking to alter our perception of images. The Re-Pocket chairs, which were part of it, were the result of a challenge proposed to a team of product and fashion designers about conceiving the prototype of a sofa/chair that would respond to the decrease in the room temperature of the environment they are located in. This module integrated the participation of Margarida Moura Guedes and Luís Osório, in the video Vídeo Modus Operandi,  Houselab (light sculpture from Paul Friedlander) in the video Dancing light”, Rui Gato in music, Paulo Gomes as fashion consultant, Henrique Ralheta and Miguel Flor in the design of the Re-pocket chairs, produced with the support of Ofícios do Tempo.

From the mission plan of Voyager 01, the participants were Milan (Fuori Salone/Salone del Mobile, April 2001), London (The Old Truman Brewery, June 2001) and Lisbon (EXD’01) and Barcelona (FAD, Outubro 2002).