honorable mention
João Miguel Barros portugal
title
Tribute
This fight involved a Chinese boxer, who was declared the winner, and a Ghanaian boxer.
The photographs presented form part of one of the 14 chapters of the Photo-Scripts project, all on different themes. Each of these chapters consists of images and a fictional text.
This chapter is a tribute to the Ghanaian boxer, who lost the fight, but boxed with great dignity.
2. The fictional text that accompanies the set is the following:
“When he was still a boy, he used cloth wrapped round his fists to hit flour bags. It strengthened muscles, he had heard people say. He wanted to grow with a muscular body, above all to attract the prettiest girls in the neighbourhood. These were the routines of his free, too free, time.
When he was older, he began to use his body in real fights. He was powered by the urge to crush his opponent, to show his fierce and implacable side, but no longer to fulfil the dream of going out with the prettiest girl in the neighbourhood. Just to hit. And to win.
At the same time, his body thickened and he had no time to nurture a fluid mind. Yes, he knew how to hit. He was known for hitting hard, implacably. He would win. Sometimes he lost. But, generally he won.
Over time, and without any time, he began to live confined within the ropes of the ring. Hitting. Being hit. Crying. Gritting his protected teeth. And occasionally smiling with rage. Yes, smiling.
In his last fight, he lost his life’s dreams. But he left the ring unharmed, on his own two feet, still smiling.”
He is a Lawyer by profession, in Lisbon and Macau.
He was co-director of the SEMA culture and visual arts magazine published in Lisbon between 1979 and1982.
In 2017 began to exhibit his photography work, with individual exhibitions at “Creative Macau - Center for Creative Industries”, Macau (February 2017) and at “Museu Berardo”, Belem Cultural Center, Lisbon, Portugal (from February to August 2018). He has participated in several group exhibitions.
He published two photobooks: “Between Gaze and Hallucination” (self-published) in 2017 and “Photo-Scripts – 14 short stories” (published by Museu Berardo) in 2018.
João Miguel Barros is also a freelance curator in contemporary photography, having promoted photography exhibitions of Chinese Artists in Portugal and is developing several other projects in this area.
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entry description
1. In October 2017, a boxing tournament was held in Macao (China). One of the fights was to decide the IBF Light Heavyweight Championship title.This fight involved a Chinese boxer, who was declared the winner, and a Ghanaian boxer.
The photographs presented form part of one of the 14 chapters of the Photo-Scripts project, all on different themes. Each of these chapters consists of images and a fictional text.
This chapter is a tribute to the Ghanaian boxer, who lost the fight, but boxed with great dignity.
2. The fictional text that accompanies the set is the following:
“When he was still a boy, he used cloth wrapped round his fists to hit flour bags. It strengthened muscles, he had heard people say. He wanted to grow with a muscular body, above all to attract the prettiest girls in the neighbourhood. These were the routines of his free, too free, time.
When he was older, he began to use his body in real fights. He was powered by the urge to crush his opponent, to show his fierce and implacable side, but no longer to fulfil the dream of going out with the prettiest girl in the neighbourhood. Just to hit. And to win.
At the same time, his body thickened and he had no time to nurture a fluid mind. Yes, he knew how to hit. He was known for hitting hard, implacably. He would win. Sometimes he lost. But, generally he won.
Over time, and without any time, he began to live confined within the ropes of the ring. Hitting. Being hit. Crying. Gritting his protected teeth. And occasionally smiling with rage. Yes, smiling.
In his last fight, he lost his life’s dreams. But he left the ring unharmed, on his own two feet, still smiling.”
about the photographer
João Miguel Barros was born in 1958, in Lisbon, Portugal.He is a Lawyer by profession, in Lisbon and Macau.
He was co-director of the SEMA culture and visual arts magazine published in Lisbon between 1979 and1982.
In 2017 began to exhibit his photography work, with individual exhibitions at “Creative Macau - Center for Creative Industries”, Macau (February 2017) and at “Museu Berardo”, Belem Cultural Center, Lisbon, Portugal (from February to August 2018). He has participated in several group exhibitions.
He published two photobooks: “Between Gaze and Hallucination” (self-published) in 2017 and “Photo-Scripts – 14 short stories” (published by Museu Berardo) in 2018.
João Miguel Barros is also a freelance curator in contemporary photography, having promoted photography exhibitions of Chinese Artists in Portugal and is developing several other projects in this area.
back to gallery