Sursum Corda (*) is a multidisciplinary show that deepens the research that Fernando Mota has been developing around the expressive and symbolic possibilities of natural elements.
It represents a radicalization of this cycle of creations, assuming art as a tool for transforming society. It uses listening, silence and shock as moments of questioning the daily rhythm and natural elements as raw material for a performative object that dialogues with the various dimensions of the human being: the spirit, the soul and the body.
“There is no opposition between the living and the non-living. Every living being is not only in continuity with the non-living, but it is its extension, its metamorphosis, its most extreme expression. Life is always the reincarnation of the non-living, the bricolage of the mineral, the carnival of the planet’s telluric substance.” – in Metamorphoses, by Emanuele Coccia
(*) Sursum Corda (latim): “Hearts up high”, “Raise your hearts”. Opening dialogue of the Preface of Eucharistic Prayer or Anaphora in the liturgies of the Christian Church. It is recorded in the first liturgies of the Christian Church and it is found in all ancient rites.
BIO
Fernando Mota is a composer, sound artist and performer.
In his artistic career he has developed a multidisciplinary language, bringing together music, theater, visual arts and poetry in the creation of objects of different natures, such as shows, installations, films and various editions. Its universe results from the crossing of different languages, geographies and tools as well as the constant sound exploration and the construction of experimental musical instruments from different materials.
He regularly composes soundtracks for theater, dance and animated films, having collaborated with several national and international directors, companies and producers.
Develops workshops, sound tours and other types of work sessions with various types of groups and communities.
At the beginning of 2020, a cycle of creations began around musical instruments and sound objects built from trees, stones and other natural elements. In this context he created Concerto para uma Árvore, the film 7 Poemas para um Mundo Novo with director Mário Melo Costa based on unpublished texts by seven Portuguese poets, the show Passagem Secreta with text by Vasco Gato, the film O Bosque with Margarida Botelho , the Do princípio do Mundo project in collaboration with seven visual artists resulting in a concert, an audiovisual installation and a sound tour in seven different locations, the show Sursum Corda | through everything, crossing their instruments with musical information technology. With Vasco Gato and Mário Melo Costa, he developed the book CD Instrumentária Poética, bringing together texts, images and sound pieces related to this phase of creation.
