The exhibition "Whether There Be Shine or Gloom" reflects on the analogy between weather conditions and emotional and mental states. How did your interest in this subject arise?
I have always wondered about the association between each season, or weather condition, and people's state of mind. Maybe because I live on an island and feel the rapid meteorological changes that are characteristic of this place.

The subject of this exhibition has interested me for a long time and I had already thought about working on it. I often address emotional states in my work. What inspired me was feeling that there is a connection between people's moods and the weather. As I related nature with human beings, on an emotional and mental level, several questions came to me. How does the weather affect us? Is there a synchronism or influence between the different seasons and our mood? How does our mental and emotional state reflect the weather and what does this reflect on society? Are certain states in which we find ourselves as ephemeral as seasonality? Basically, the emergence of questions like these, as well as multiple interpretations and points of view, are present in this exhibition.

In "Whether There Be Shine or Gloom" I addressed the extreme conditions that can often be used metaphorically in relation to psychic or emotional states. In this sense, I used storms precisely as a comparison to depressive, anxious, panic and melancholic states.

The title of the exhibition is inspired by a poem by John Keats. How did this connection with the 19th century English poet come about?
I like poetry and its romantic side. Given my literary taste, it was a happy coincidence, during my research for this exhibition, that I came across John Keats, a romantic poet. I interpreted the verse in which I was inspired for the title of the exhibition as a good reference to what I was representing in my work. The poem is called "A thing of beauty". If you look at the title of the exhibition, it is a contradiction. In my work I always like to compare opposite realities. This time, the contrast is between extremes: hot and cold, light and shadow, chaos and order, adrenaline and apathy, hurry and calm, predictability and unpredictability, euphoria and dysphoria. Keats' verse seemed to me to reflect the possibility of the analogy I want to convey in my art. From my perspective, from my life experiences, I try to demonstrate that we should be aware of the durability and intensity of some less positive states of mind and emotions, so that we can realize that there is support and there is a way to rise up when we love the beauty of the abyss. It is up to us to be vigilant about our own "climate," to be aware of it, whether there is brightness or darkness.

How does this interest materialize in the exhibition showing at Arquipélago?
When I start working on my sculptures, regardless of the concepts, there are always many ways to materialize what I want to express. However, for this exhibition, from the beginning, I idealized a sculpture in which the public could enter, so that what the piece represents would be central to the atmosphere of the exhibition. The idea came to me as a metaphor for the isolation to which some weather conditions invite us. Here I try to represent that this state can have a duality in relation to the thoughts that can arise from it, and that, despite the fog, in it we can also reach conclusions. From this, other ideas came to me regarding pieces that demonstrate a relationship between stormy weather conditions and people's state of mind.

The interconnection between the weather and our mental, physical, and emotional state inspired me to create pieces that establish an immediate interactivity with the viewer. This led me to create pieces that react to the presence of the audience, through their movement.

In short, there are five floor pieces, four of them inspired by the old light boxes for reading weather charts. These pieces establish the connection between the anxious state, often physically manifested in our breathing, and natural phenomena, through an overlay of images. Finally, a wall piece that, for me, is the rebuilding after these internal processes that will hopefully lead us to embrace both clarity and darkness.

This is the second time you present your work at Arquipélago. How has the relationship been with the institution?
I consider Arquipélago a very important institution for the Azorean culture, being an important place for Contemporary Art in the Azores. I am pleased to be able to be display here again, this time as a solo artist. It is an important milestone in my career to have a solo exhibition, which is supported by the Azores Regional Government, in a place that is already familiar to me not only as an artist but also as part of the public.