Photographer Carla de Sousa is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this photo essay. From the project ‘The Breviary of Decorum’. To see Carla ’s body of work, click on any photograph.

If I remember correctly, it was January 2019 when I was surprised by the invitation of curator Alice WR, to join the 8th edition of Instantes – Avintes International Photography Festival that would take place in 2021. Her proposal, in a feminist curatorial line, placed the emphasis on disseminating and giving visibility to photography developed and made by women. At the time that Alice WR addressed me this complimentary invitation to me, we did not know, nor could we predict how the entire project would be shaped by the circumstances that the COVID-19 pandemic imposed on cultural events.

“Combinations, in a larger dimension” was born from a massive curatorial work that involved more than 50 women from various parts of the world, namely Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Estonia, Australia, Finland, Cape Verde, Armenia, Greece and Brazil, with the program including, for the first time, an educational/pedagogical/training aspect that was developed in several online activities, challenging, encouraging interaction, enhancing new dialogues and reflections around the creation process.

The purposes of an edition, in the feminine, embodied in the editorial of the 8th edition of Instantes are clear and, even today, resonant. Alice WR knew how to take care of them, with versatility and innovation. Therefore, it was an immense honor for me to be part of this group of women and this project, which I keep with affection among my memories.

When I am asked if exclusive exhibition spaces are still needed for women’s art, my answer remains, unfortunately, positive. It is not that we women do not dedicate ourselves to the most varied forms of art, nor that what we produce, in this aspect, is not of quality, simply what we do is and continues to be condemned to invisibility. And what is not seen, does not exist. It has been like this throughout the history of art (and the history of humanity): women have always had to be more, they have had to face misogyny, dominance, concealment and even male usurpation of their artistic work. And we continue, gradually, to tread this path with advances and setbacks. The 8th edition of Instantes, in this sense, I believe, being able to say it with knowledge of the facts, was an important milestone in the dissemination of photography made in women.

For my participation in the 8th edition of Instantes I prepared a video-installation: a small and black space – designed by the organization and the mentor of the festival Pereira Lopes, whom I thank -, housed 2 to 3 people (respecting the pandemic rules of containment) and a projection of The Breviary of Decorum sounded by an excerpt from the song Slowly becoming, kindly provided, for this purpose, by the musician from Marinha Grande, André Barros. Visioning, provided by the containment of space, accentuated the perception of intimacy and introspection of the visual experience provided.

The breviary of decorum, an intimate and sensual derivation of Cartography for a kiss, is based on the reflection on the role of women in today’s society: it naturally carries a transgressive note to the concept of decorum, of decency, eminently patriarchal, which is imposed on women and explores the construction of another matrix: a look that respects women, in all its dimensions, including those that are still forbidden to it, such as the affirmation of desire, knowledge of one’s body, pleasure and sex.

At a time when the freedom to be who you are is increasingly curtailed, The Breviary of Decorum continues to have relevance and therefore deserves this highlight, among my exhibition projects. But this essay also met other forms of life: a box containing a limited edition of 5 images (out of print) and a book, which can be purchased in digital or physical format here. And, I can say, that it is still alive, in my present work.

Bio

Carla de Sousa (Luanda, Angola, 1974) | Lawyer, Visual Artist

Born in Luanda, Angola, in April 1974, she has lived and worked in Leiria, Portugal, as a lawyer for over 27 years. She found in photography her primary form of artistic expression, exploring through her images the poetry of everyday life, minimalist details, studies of light and shadow, self-portraiture, and self-representation. Her photography speaks in the first person, seeking not to reproduce reality but rather to translate her inner world as faithfully as possible.

Since 2013, her work has been exhibited in various solo and group exhibitions in Portugal and abroad, namely in Italy, Spain, Finland, and Norway. In the city of Leiria, notable exhibitions include The Book of Discomforts (2017) at Livraria Arquivo Gallery; Cartography for a Kiss (2019) at BAG – Banco das Artes Galeria, curated by Ana David Mendes; Impermanences (2022) at m|i|mo – Museu da Imagem em movimento; and Topographies (2023) at Livraria Arquivo Gallery.

The author has also contributed to several publications, both individual and collaborative. Notable among these are, in 2018, Desimaginar o Mundo, Descriá-lo (Reimagining the World, Uncreating It) , a collective work published by the Faculdade de Belas Artes de Lisboa to mark the 75th anniversary of the Portuguese poet Manuel António Pina; in 2019, the essay Cartografia para um beijo (Cartography for a Kiss), which she signed under her heteronym Clara Vales, bringing together the two strands of her artistic practice—her images and poetic prose; in 2021, the pandemic-era collective book O meu amor não cabe num poema (My Love Does Not Fit in a Poem), edited by Carlos Dias, which includes her essay O poema indizível (The Unsayable Poem); in 2022, she created the scenic imagery for Marta Duque Vaz’s monologue play O lado esquerdo (The Left Side); and, most recently, in May 2025, her essay Um dia, outro (One Day, Another) appears alongside five others in the collective volume Um dia de cada vez (One Day at a Time), edited by Carlos Dias.