« Absolute zero »

• set of five photos,
• plastic demijohn damaged by liquid nitrogen
• "Busca-Pólos I" exhibition
• Paço de Vila-Flor - Guimarães, Portugal, 2006
• organization: Salão Olímpico and
• Serralves contemporary Art Museum

I heard of the life story of an African man who, trying to enter Europe "illegally", swam through the Strait of Gibraltar. As aid, he built a kind of buoy out of empty water demijohns. When he reached the European side, he was detained by the police and repatriated. Back in Morocco, he would claim to be only waiting for better weather to try the crossing again.

In the Palace of Vila-Flor there is a series of sculptures around the building. Those sculptures represent the kings of Portugal in a dynastic, chronological succession. The absolute zero is, in theory, the lowest possible temperature (about -273o C). Any solid material subjected to that temperature becomes brittle. So fragile that a simple fall can break it into pieces.

http://www.fundacao-plmj.pt/detalhe.php?aID=4977#showDetail
[PLMJ collection - Lisbon]