Este projecto consiste numa série de fotografias feitas a partir das traseiras interiores do edifício onde vivi em Malmö, na Suécia.


De certa forma, fotografar estas simples áreas traseiras de um grande pátio comunitário é olhar e reflectir sobre uma determinada política e estrutura social num determinado contexto.


As fotografias apresentam-se em dupla projecção de slides (reunidas em COMMUNITY COURTYARD II). Dessas foi feita uma selecção de 10 que posteriormente foram impressas e apresentadas em pares, com 4 dípticos de 40 x 60 cm e um díptico introdutório de 21 x 31,50cm (reunidas em COMMUNITY COURTYARD III). As fotografias deverão idealmente ser acompanhadas de uma caixa de luz (COMMUNITY COURTYARD I) onde se lê o seguinte texto:


“The buildings in my neighbourhood don’t have doorbells, buzzers or intercom systems. Instead they have a keypad. Only those people who know the security code can enter. However, all the buildings have inner courtyards. Those courtyards are big spaces, safe from the outside street. They are surrounded on all sides by hundreds of back windows. My bedroom window faces one of those courtyards. Whenever I am in my bedroom and I look out the window, I see my neighbour’s windows. My neighbours and I don’t have curtains, so I can see and be seen. The situation seems like a kind of panopticon, but it functions in the opposite way that the panoptical system, conceived for prisons, does. Here, there is not a dominant authority looking at and controlling all. Instead, each individual produces a gaze and, at the same time, a gaze that is produced by everyone and by no one.

The main function of these courtyards seems to be the development of relational and shared activities. My courtyard has a community garden complete with tables, chairs, and even a grill. There is also a community garbage and recycling spot, a community bicycle-parking area and a community laundry. Thus, it is a public space for a private community. It is a space conceived to create a sense of collectivity among individuals. It is a space divided by fences and walls, often empty of people.”