Interview with Silvestre Pestana, author of the Umbigo.space cover

article

DATE

07 Jul 2026

AUTHOR

Mafalda Teixeira

Interview with Silvestre Pestana, author of the Umbigo.space cover

AUTHOR

Mafalda Teixeira

At the invitation of Umbigo, and in connection with the exhibition dedicated to him at the 24th Cerveira International Art Biennial, Silvestre Pestana presents the POLÉN2:0 project, which is featured in the Post-Digital section.

A poet, visual artist and performer, Silvestre Pestana (b. 1949, Funchal) is one of the most radical figures in contemporary Portuguese art. Combining the visual arts with poetry as a form of resistance to censorship, the artist has, since the late 1960s, developed a unique body of work that explores a wide range of disciplines. His politically charged actions, collages and photographs from the 1970s and 1980s, which make use of his own body, activate linguistic and non-linguistic codes, whilst transforming poetry into a spatial and choreographic practice. By using the moving image as a tool for performative and poetic action, Pestana has become one of the pioneering figures of video art in Portugal. Making use of the latest technologies, in recent decades the artist has turned to computing, computer games, drones, GIFs and avatars to construct new forms of artistic resistance.

The retrospective exhibition at the Serralves Museum in 2016 and the exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara (California), in 2017 brought him widespread recognition; in 2020, he was awarded the Portuguese AICA/MC/Millennium BCP 2019 Prize for the Visual Arts in recognition of his long and multidisciplinary artistic career.

In 2026, a particular highlight is the exhibition Colapso, presented at the Porto Municipal Gallery and curated by João Laia, in which Silvestre Pestana presents a new large-scale installation, through which he expands his exploration of the impact of technology on society. Also of note is the tribute exhibition, curated by Mafalda Santos and João Ribas, which will be dedicated to him at the 24th Cerveira International Art Biennial, running from 18 July to 30 December 2026.

At the invitation of Umbigo, Silvestre Pestana presents the project POLÉN2:0, which is featured in the Post-Digital section and which he discusses with us.

Mafalda Teixeira: The introduction of the new is a defining feature of her artistic practice, particularly in recent works that make use of technologies such as drones or digital creation, with reference to AI. PÓLEN 2:0 forms part of the augmented reality work PÓLEN R.A. (2024), which is part of the Porto Digital Gallery. Was this the first time you had used this new technology in your body of work?

Silvestre Pestana: My introduction to the NEW stems from an intensely internal and unsettling impulse, arising from the need to find meaning as an artist and a citizen.

From a very early age, whilst studying the dynamics relating to the health of planet Earth, I realised that it is constrained by a widely acclaimed, intense and voracious predatory behaviour, exercised through the accelerated extraction of its resources. I thus observed the accelerated social ‘DOING’, with its promises and controversies surrounding the structural issue of the redistribution of accumulated wealth, resulting from the magnificent techno-productivist effort that generates EXCESS.

I learnt from the Bards the profound value of testimonial narratives, grounded in the discursive resources that each era invents, normalises and transmits.

Fascinated, I have followed over the last few decades the emergence of dizzying technical marvels — digital technology, drones and, why not, the magical mobile phone as a portable, personal computer.

My first Q.R. works, utilising augmented reality, date from 2014 and benefited, at the time, from technical support from U.C.P. These works were presented during my participation in Momento III of the Maia Biennial in 2015, and were subsequently included in the António Duarte cycle at Espaço Concas in 2016.

This public augmented reality project in the city of Porto brings together 13 unique works by 13 artists, scattered throughout the urban fabric, which must be accessed on site via a mobile device, enabling the public to rediscover the city.

Mafalda Teixeira: In proposing new ways of looking at public art, what were the main concerns and/or constraints that shaped the creation of a work that simultaneously suggests a new interpretation of public space and a rediscovery of the city?

Silvestre Pestana: When I was contacted to take part in its presentation and promotion, I was surprised and inspired by the commitment and culturally innovative vision associated with a new interpretation of public space, enthusiastically championed by its organiser, Engineer Paulo Calçada.

The challenge I faced when I was invited to take part was immense: how could I respond, with imagination, to this intense experience of cultural citizenship?

All around me, I could see a whole new generation of highly creative enthusiasts.

Once I had accepted the invitation, I benefited from the professionalism and creative commitment of Pedro Galego, who was introduced to me during the working sessions. After several sketches, I conceived the work PÓLEN2:0, consisting of a log in which I celebrate the earth, magma and ice, supporting an ascending bell-shaped structure resembling a pitcher plant, from which a myriad of pollen grains are projected.

Mafalda Teixeira: Located in Praça D. João I in Porto, with on-site access via QR code, the image of the flower and its pollination process seems to evoke the gushing water of the old Fonte Luminosa, which once stood in the same spot. Were you concerned with rethinking the history and identity of the place where the work would be situated?

Silvestre Pestana: Whilst developing this augmented reality project for Praça de D. João I, I consulted an archive of images of the city and confirmed the former existence of a lighted fountain in that space. I then recalled the strong impression that its vigour and luminosity had made on me during my first encounter with the city of Porto, as a young man who had recently arrived from Funchal to attend the School of Fine Arts.

The work PÓLEN2:0 refers to the need to counter recent destructive impulses—witnessed in the global return to the recurrent use of war—with a sense of existential fertility. At the same time, in a more subtle and intimate way, it seeks to honour my roots as an islander from Madeira, who has always harboured a deep admiration for Iceland—that land of fire and ice.

BIOGRAPHY

Mafalda Teixeira, Master’s Degree in History of Art, Heritage and Visual Culture from the Faculty of Letters of the University of Porto. She has an internship and worked in the Temporary Exhibitions department of the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona. During the master’s degree, she did a curricular internship in production at the Municipal Gallery of Oporto. Currently, she is devoted to research in the History of Modern and Contemporary Art, and publishes scientific articles.

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