'Presence Of Absence'
- Arcxsite Competition (02.2019)
Project Type: Chapel
Location: Pessegueiro Island, Portugal
Project Brief: The competition titled “Site Chapel” aimed to create a Chapel on the Pessegueiro Island in Portugal which was once a historic battleground for the Portugese and the Romans. This island later transformed into a fish processing centre, as determined by archaeological excavations which discovered the remains of salt talks along the island’s southern coast.Our main idea was to avoid any disruption to the archaic salt tanks but to rather create a sculptural chapel that would mark the formal port of entry into the island.
The following is a poem illustrating the flow through our proposal:
Focus. Listen. Feel. Embrace
As the waves crash against the shore
Old as time itself, reaching out to the unknown
As the waves crash against the shore
Old as time itself, reaching out to the unknown
Focus,
As you walk along the path,
Unknowing of what awaits.
Listen,
Unknowing of what awaits.
Listen,
To the sand crunching below your feet,
and the water tickling at your toes.
Feel,
and the water tickling at your toes.
Feel,
The presence of Absence,
as the light shines through the cross of faith.
Embrace,
as the light shines through the cross of faith.
Embrace,
The sincerity and sanctity
of being one with nature.
of being one with nature.
Rest, Release, Comprehend, Surrender,
As you enter the space of perpetual knowledge.
Knowledge of all that is known and unknown.
Rest,
As you enter the space of perpetual knowledge.
Knowledge of all that is known and unknown.
Rest,
And experience the overlap of life and faith,
Water at your feet, the sky above,
Earth suspended Mid-Air and life all around.
Water at your feet, the sky above,
Earth suspended Mid-Air and life all around.
Release,
As you sense the time stop around you
As nature flows at its slow constant pace.
Comprehend,
As nature flows at its slow constant pace.
Comprehend,
The dematerialization of specificity of faith,
As you experience its transcendence.
Surrender,
As you experience its transcendence.
Surrender,
To your faith in the cross
And believe that it will support you
As you observe its strength
In holding up the space around you,
And believe that it will support you
As you observe its strength
In holding up the space around you,
And finally Accept,
The power and integrity of your faith,
Even as its ethereal glory,
Is engulfed by the looming sea
Exploded Isometric
