Monumento a D. Flavin – Ângela Ferreira

Monument to D. Flavin is the product of an invitation extended by the EDP Foundation to visual artist Ângela Ferreira 10 years ago to create a piece to interact with one of the so-called ‘Seven Wonders of Portugal’. The artwork was to be exhibited at Guimarães Castle, a 10th century monument considered to be the cradle of the nation.

For Ângela Ferreira, who was born in Mozambique in 1958 and is known for her large-scale sculptures questioning the colonial past, the invitation represented a significant challenge. “I thought: “how am I going to compete with one of the most visited monuments in Portugal?”, recalls the artist, who lives in Lisbon.

In search for inspiration, the artist ‘came across’ the Monument to the Third International. Designed in 1920 by Vladimir Tatlin – selected by Vladimir Lenin to coordinate a campaign to replace statues from the Tsarist period with Bolshevik pieces –, the Monument to the Third International was intended to be an abstract tower made of iron and glass. Although it was never produced, it is considered a classic example of Russian Constructivism – it was the subject of a tribute by American artist and minimalist Dan Flavin, in a series which was begun in the 1960s and featured a series of 39 artworks in neon light.

With Monument to D. Flavin, Ângela Ferreira paid tribute to this very tribute: her piece, an aluminium structure whose form is reminiscent of a castle, incorporated the neon lights so prized by Flavin.