āKia whakatÅmuri te haere whakamua.ā (I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on my past) ā MÄori proverb
Sometimes I see time as cyclical: certain events, places, people, keep reappearing in my life, in the form of different episodes, spaces, faces. I want to believe that some of the books I start and not finish, will also come back to me, perhaps, at a certain moment, in the future, or in the not-so-distant life. And some of the ones I finish as well. Some others are, on the other hand, a continuous present, always in my mind, always next to me if I need to converse with them. This is the case of the books I took to Auckland.
Going back to London last June was a little bit like the opposite of that MÄori proverb: not walking backward into the future, but walking forward into the past. That strange feeling of belonging, that nothing has changed physically in the place I said see-you-soon to, but that many things have changed in me and I am not the same person that left 6 months ago, in a kind of rush, to begin a 2-year adventure in New Zealand.
I couldnāt help but visit my favourite bookstore, Foyles, (some things will never change) where I spent a couple of hours getting lost in words and pictures. I bought a couple of books: Interaction of Color by Josef Albers and Ways of Drawing by the Royal Drawing School (that I will show you in following posts). These days I am very interested in Colour Theory, and I am trying to get back into the habit of drawing after consecutive weekends away traveling.
Later in that trip to Europe we also passed by Porto with a visit to the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art being one of the highlights. There I got the book Imagining the Evident, by Ćlvaro Siza.
Visiting Porto was truly āwalking backward into the future with my eyes fixed on my pastā. I had been trying to visit this city for a decade now since I was in Architecture School. Visiting the Serralves Museum was like diving into those plans and sections and drawings I was so familiar with and had revisited many times during those student years. Itās always so interesting to visit a space you have studied so much and know from memory. The physical experience is nothing compared to the technical drawing, and it comes in many different ways.
There I also discovered the art and eye of Carla Filipe.
Iāve come to like uncertainty, and, for whatever reason, the thought of not knowing what the future will look like appears exciting to me. There is no nostalgia, attachment, or fear. There is mostly curiosity, a sense of discovery. The same feeling when I start reading a new book, at the beginning of any trip to somewhere new or when I start a drawing. āThe best way to predict the future is to create [design] itā. Uncertainty is almost like a design exercise.
That MÄori proverb at the start of the post talks about the perspective of time, with past, present, and future being intertwined, and life being a continuous cosmic process. Itās funny how sometimes these quotes appear at the right time and place, blending with the books I am reading or the ideas I am exploring. Here is another quote that crossed my path recently:
āUna, primero se forma, y despuĆ©s va a por lo que no sabe.ā (She educates herself first, and then she pursues what she does not know.) ā Isabel SantalĆ³ (via Paula Bonet)
I keep walking forwards thought, into any future. Eyes wide open.
Towards what I do not (yet) know.
Happy reading!Ā šāØ
Ana
šĀ What Iām reading inĀ July 2023:
A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit. I have heard about her so, so many times, but never read anything until now - classic case of a book recommended in a book. Another companion I save in my pocket. I will continue to read more of hers.
Interaction of Color by Josef Albers. This is the 50th-anniversary edition of a classic in visual arts. Alberts reveals in this book the magic of the relationship between colours, and how the way we perceive colour is entirely influenced by the light and hue of its context. A must for any visual artist or designer.
Imagining the Evident by Ćlvaro Siza. This is a fantastic little gem I found in the Serralves Museum. A small book with Sizaās thoughts and sketches of some of his projects, buildings, and city planning.
Thanks so much for reading!
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All images and text Ā© Ana Vila