Info about multimedia exhibition at boémia caffe with identity as a theme - Porto - January - 2017

Dear artists and friends,

When I was thinking in this exhibition about identity (and comunication) some days ago, I was a bit in a Kafkaesque state, because there are several things in the XXI Century that I really don't understand when people tell me about the great advantages of social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, Tumblr, blogues or even websites (and I do use them aswell) since I know that we must filter several info from everywhere in the world wide web to organize books or be informed about what's happening in it while trying to establish direct comunication also.

I was thinking in some words by Portuguese soccer coach José Mourinho that gave a press conference after a soccer game based in the question "why?" while he was at Madrid - Spain.

This has nothing to do with soccer, but I truly believe in the power of words, so while thinking in those spoken words by Mourinho, I've decided to start question identity in the XXI century with the help of some of his words and with the help of a image drawn by Argentine artist Mister ED like a peekaboo (based in the song that appears while Mourinho is speaking in a video in this post) game while trying to Swallow (based in the British band with the same name that also appears in this post) my agony because of not understanding the power of social networks and the way that people comunicate in them.

So, I did tried to blow (based in the album of the band) a bit of some words with some self-portraits by artists that I really love and admire as human beings.

Sometimes I do believe that maybe I'm a bit "punk rock" (like the song that appears with the artists self-portraits in the video in this post) and I also thought in the power of words that Iggy Pop says (that he's reciting in the same song by Scottish band Mogwai in this post).

Based in some self-portraits by international artists from countries such as

Argentina : Mister ED, Fer Calvi, Pato Delpeche, Quique Alcatena.

Portugal : Paulo Pinto and Geral & Derradé 

Spain - Miguel Almagro, Dulce Escribano, Fidel Martiñez Nadal, Gustavo Rico, Javier Gay Llorente, Joaquin Aldeguer, Jon Ander Azaola, Pedro Espinosa, Ruben Pellejero, Santiago Sequeiros (that appear in a video in this post), I'm sure that they will help people understanding some questions that in my humble opinion are real important, making this without any kind of malice, I'm pretty sure that with a little help from excellent artists artists from several countries that I admire and comunicate with and are drawing more self-portraits by themselves, perhaps we'll have a chance to understand how life and identity works (unlike Mourinho that says that we've "no chance" (in this same video in this post), in this century that we live in, because they're excellent storytellers and observers of society and people while they're drawing their stories and imagining worlds within worlds.

I really don't know if this is some kind of manifest or a quest in order to search for identity, so once again, with the help of all these excellent artists, an exhibition will be held at boémia caffe in Porto in January - 2017 to see if our exchange of ideas can comunicate directly with its customers that day in, day out visit one of the best coffee shops in my hometown and I really want to see how they react to words and self-portraits of artists who were exhibited before in this same coffee shop with their artworks (in tributes to Valentina by Guido Crepax by international artists that I've organized with the help of Caterina Crepax that I've helped curating it in this same coffee shop and other countries while being series editor of Fantagraphics Crepax collection aswell and with Cats exhibition that I've also curated due to the sudden loss of my kitten Ilvie without me understanding why and that it's having a huge impact in boémia caffe customers with their memories being triggered with images of mere cats (and I know that some of them were not only mere cats, but also artists pets aswell) and now they'll try to show a bit of who they are without any kind of masks.

You know that all of you are really important to thousands of people like myself that read comic books, books or even enjoy art, that's why I've thought in organizing this exhibition with a bit of heart and soul in it.

Editing by Duarte Aguiar

Special thanks to Daniel Castro (owner of boémia caffe) for providing his coffee shop as a space for this exhibition that maybe will have a difficult narrative to tell or maybe not. 

To my kitty Ilvie for being also my muse and source of inspiration.

For sure that I'll be there observing how people react to this exhibition as a mere customer, trying to have feedback from them while direct communicating with all the amazing artists that will be exhibited in it with words, images or songs.

More info coming real soon at this blogue. 

Da mui nobre sempre leal e invicta cidade do Porto,

Manuel Espírito Santo 

Mourinho seen through the eyes of Argentine artist Mr ED