Granite

Photographic series, 2022

In the north of Portugal, the border with Spain is often little more than a small river, a distant hill or a crude fence. People living on either side often say they have more in common with each other than with the capitals beneath whose flags they live.

Isolation, harsh soils and terrain, severe winters and the demands of survival created fertile conditions for faith to leave its mark on the landscape. Throughout the region, I found traces of it carved into rock and granite: crosses, shrines and other signs embedded in the same material that shapes the territory.


This photographic series was made in 2021 during a short residency at   MDOC - Melgaço Internacional Documentary Film Festival , across Melgaço, Castro Laboreiro and the surrounding border region.