Lisbon

Lisbon, Dessassosego, The Pessoa Project

Many years ago I read the "Book of Disquiet" (Livro do Desassossego) by Fernando Pessoa. I was both impressed as well slightly irritated by this strange blend of poetry, philosophy and his somewhat self-indulgent daydreaming. After I finished it I put it on my bookshelf and thought I would never read it again. But recently I picked it up and also started to read his poetry and even his curious travel guide: "Lisbon: What the tourist should see". Fascinated by the work of this strange and unremarkable man I decided to travel to Lisbon to look for the poet in a portrait of the city. Of course I searched for traces of places where Pessoa actually lived, the offices where he worked and the café's he frequently visited. But more rewarding was it, to wander rather aimlessly through his city, with a few of his lines lingering in my head. Like Pessoa himself often did, as he was described: “as a passerby of everything”.  So I photographed everything.

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