Pessoa High Street and 100% Pessoa Chocolate feature sentences from the “Book of Disquiet” by Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935). Pessoa’s book is a collection of existential fragments, observations and introspective reflections with no narrative order, signed under a pen-name and published posthumously, unedited. Conceived as digital drawings first, they were then turn into site-specific wall stencils.
Pessoa High Street is conceived as a frieze that runs discreetly along the very upper part of a space, recreating a miniature high street succession. Logos, fonts and brands from UK high streets are reworked, adapted and used to recite a sentence from the book.
In 100% Pessoa Chocolate the patterns of a chocolate wrapping are scaled up to almost a ‘human size’ and the chocolate brand logo integrated into a sentence from the book, adjusting with a play of words (100% Cocoa becoming 100% Pessoa) the description of this ‘new product’.
This ephemeral operation try to transform everyday imagery, constantly and forcefully imposed to our perception, into individual, short-lived poetic responses. It is a reflection about creating an inner, intimate and lyrical space within our daily reality, amongst the jungle of aggressive commercial slogans, corporate branding and fast-pacing technology of contemporary life.
francesca ricci 