Behind the art

The Mindful Image project and Unique Beauty is guided by the poem Mirror, by Sylvia Plath, from which Maria Inês Lourenço and Sílvia Ferreira begin their plastic exploration, combining it with the lenços dos namorados (sweetheart handkerchiefs). The choice to represent the idea of the lenços dos namorados is not random. This traditionally portuguese handkerchief originated in the 18th century in the Minho region, in northern Portugal. These handkerchiefs were crafted by young portuguese women of “marriageable age”, who embroidered their favorite motifs onto a linen square. Originally, they were worn during Sunday strolls, but their main purpose was to conquer the man they loved. Over time, the inclusion of written messages became common, allowing women to dedicate poems to their beloved. This writing was often phonetically transcribed as they spoke, reflecting the educational poverty of the time – many women were unable to continue their studies due to their gender. If the young man accepted the invitation of love, he would wear the handkerchief in his coat pocket or around his neck. Behind this simple love handkerchief lies deep social pain, including the pressure on women to belong to a man and to cease being a financial burden to their families. Uneducated women, seeking a “owner” to ensure their survival, would pour their talents into embroidery, demonstrating their domestic skills in hopes of being chosen as a useful wife for the household. In this project, the artists work with used bedsheets, printing images inspired by the lenços dos namorados through water washes and stamping techniques, emphasizing the domestic role historically assigned to women. The artists intertwine the poem with the bedsheets by incorporating handwritten excerpts. However, due to the unpredictability of water, the text dissolves, leaving behind only the idea of the poem. This fading reflects how, like the mirror in Plath’s poem, the women who embroidered these handkerchiefs accepted the partner who appeared before them—just as the woman in the mirror accepts the image she reflects – without choice or agency. During the performance, the pieces – created in pairs that mirror each other – will be displayed hanging around the audience in a way that evokes a clothesline. This installation creates an atmosphere resembling the center of a clearing, symbolizing the reflective universe of the poem. Thus, the viewer finds themselves between the reflected and the reflection, occupying the intermediate space – a limbo between what is, what was, and what could be.