Luz e Sombra has 10 blank pages – and it’s no mistake

1 photo, 8 texts and then… blank lines. Collective project crosses photography and literature based on multiple readings of the same image.

The book is called Light and Shadow – from lens to paper. And, in the reading itself, collaboration is expected… from those who are reading.

It is a reflection on how we look and what we choose to see when light and shadow intersect. An open object, centered on the creative process and the active relationship with the reader, summarizes the statement.

The work is a collective project that combines photography and literature based on multiple readings of the same image.

Concrete example: there is a photograph, then there are 8 texts related to that image and then there is a blank sheet.

Or better yet, at the end of the 8 texts, there is a sheet with lines (all empty) to encourage writing. Before the lines, questions arise like “And your gaze, what do you see?” or “Let your feelings flow into words”. It is an invitation for the reader to prolong the creative gesture initiated by the authors.

These phrases, these examples, were shared with ZAP by Cláudia Passarinho, one of the 8 authors of the texts. The others are: Ana Paula Miranda, Carla Carmona, Elizabete Alves, Luciana Morais, Maria Gaio, Maria Leonilda Pereira and Margarida Leite.

Each text – short story or poem, with a maximum of 300 words each – presents different narrative, emotional and symbolic perspectives.

They cover themes such as: loneliness, memory, freedom, love, loss and time.

All photographs are by Miguel Gago.

Photography appears, not as an illustrative element, but as a narrative provocation, opening space for interpretation and writing.

The book was developed as part of the À Luz das Letras dynamic, guided by Cláudia Passarinho, part of the Writers Club, a community dedicated to new authors and beta readers.

Light and Shadow – from lens to paper will be presented next Saturday, February 14th, at 3pm, at Livraria Ulmeiro, in Lisbon. The launch session will feature a presentation by Analita Alves dos Santos.