Cover:
Ref:
FNZTAVRMC-PT#1089
Title + Issue Number
TRADIÇÃO E SUSTENTABILIDADE
- Publisher:
- MAGDA BARATA
- Author/s:
- Magda Barata
- Month + Year:
- -/2026
- Country:
- Portugal
- City:
- Aveiro
- Language:
- PT
- Format:
- 19 cm / 5x14 cm
- Typology:
- Artist Book
- Access:
- Restricted
- Aveiro Library Network:
- N/A
- Details:
- Concept
This project involves the creation of an artist’s book as an original work of art, independently conceived and produced. My work is based on the idea that, over just two generations, most ancestral skills related to subsistence and sustainability have been lost, including textile crafts, among many others.
In just two generations, this knowledge has become almost entirely lost!
The purpose of this book is, ultimately, to raise awareness and attempt to revitalise some of these crafts. Using the book as an object and a means of artistic expression, I sought to draw attention to a form of textile reuse that has become almost forgotten, particularly among younger urban generations. In terms of format and materials, the book measures approximately 25 × 10 cm and was made using unbleached cotton fabric, photocopies and thread.
Process
The project grew out of a very personal interest in textile materials, including fabrics, threads and techniques. Drawing on two practices particularly close to my heart — sewing and embroidery — I chose to work with talegos or taleigas (the terms used in the Alentejo and Beiras regions, respectively).
After collecting photographs of these objects, which I had made myself, I presented, during the training course, a book containing an embroidered summary of their origins (believed to be Arabic) and their function — originally used as an old measure for wheat and nowadays for carrying bread, packed meals or other everyday essentials. The book also explores how these bags are sewn, followed by several pages featuring stitched images of talegos (photographs of examples I had made myself).
The book was developed throughout the working period and the artist residency.
Conclusion
This artist’s book reflects a highly personal and experimental approach to my relationship with these objects, which are once again becoming fashionable as a sustainable, environmentally friendly alternative to plastic bags, allowing textile waste to be given a new lease of life. Each talego is a unique and special piece.
Choosing this subject was not easy, as I had been too focused on a more Dadaist approach to the artist’s book. In the end, however, I decided not to marginalise myself simply because I identify more closely with materials other than paper, glue and cut-outs.
- Theme:
- Talegos
- Content Type:
- Crafts and Handicrafts / Ethnography
Cataloguing Status:
- FNZTAVRMC
- RBCIRA
- RBMA
- BESJE
