Voyager 01

Co-curator of the itinerant exhibition/installation Voyager 01, presented in Milan, London Lisbon and Barcelona.

Voyager was envisioned as an installation/exhibition on Portuguese creativity and also as a communication operation.

It began in 2001 and was conceived as the itinerant identity of the EXD Biennale, based on the metaphor of the space probe, from which it took its name. During its 18 presentations in 6 countries, the project internationally disseminated content produced by around 210 Portuguese creators. It was designed with a sense of mobility, to be shown in different places in Portugal and also abroad, working on the notion of movement, displacement, open space, time and speed. From an itinerant modular system, it was transformed in 2003 into a more autonomous system, which led it to travel European roads. It became a motif in itself, a possibility for creation, since it only presented original content. It constantly explored and tested new exhibition formats, looking for ways to reach the general public more effectively.

This first edition was characterised by experimentation, exploration and cross-disciplinary exchange. It challenged various artists and designers to create an expression, one of many possible, of contemporary Portuguese culture. V’01 brought together around 80 creators from the fields of environmental design, architecture, dance, fashion design, graphic design, industrial design, music, new media, photography, product design, sound design, video and visual arts.

Starting from a modular concept, Voyager 01 was designed to be presented indoors, made up of four large modules. Altogether, the result was a vast chain of collaborations in diversified intersections, offering an interactive landscape of the most recent Portuguese creativity.

Conceived by GMG, Pedro Gadanho and João Paulo Feliciano, the four modules were designed by Miguel Vieira Baptista.

GMG curated “MÓDULO VERMELHO” and “MÓDULO AZUL” (Red and Blue module respectively), both exploring different vectors, intending to create potential changes in the perception of contents.

The first module integrated subjects of sound design, ambient design and light design, with works by House Lab – Rafael Toral and Rui Gato, in the areas of sound and music, and Vasco Gato, in the area of poetry. This defined the entrance of Voyager, looking to establish an interaction with the visitors through the intense use of colour and exploration of relationships between space, sound and literature. 

The second module integrated product and ambient design, as well as fashion design and videoart, creating a space for the projection of the videos Modus Operandi and Dancing Light. This module explored the concepts of space, time, colour and temperature, looking to alter our perception of images. The Re-Pocket chairs, which were part of it, were the result of a challenge proposed to a team of product and fashion designers about conceiving the prototype of a sofa/chair that would respond to the decrease in the room temperature of the environment they are located in. This module integrated the participation of Margarida Moura Guedes and Luís Osório, in the video Vídeo Modus Operandi,  Houselab (light sculpture from Paul Friedlander) in the video Dancing light”, Rui Gato in music, Paulo Gomes as fashion consultant, Henrique Ralheta and Miguel Flor in the design of the Re-pocket chairs, produced with the support of Ofícios do Tempo.

From the mission plan of Voyager 01, the participants were Milan (Fuori Salone/Salone del Mobile, April 2001), London (The Old Truman Brewery, June 2001), Lisbon (EXD’01) and Barcelona (FAD, Outubro 2002).