"we hope to serve as a reminder of our collective memory, our sense of place and cultural identity" Expanded Eye

great moment inside the atelier captured by Johnny Wozen

“In this fast-paced consumer driven modern world, as we sink deeper into the spectacle and grow ever more disconnected from a life of meaning, our natural environment, each other, and our own identity; ‘No Future Without Memory’ aims to evoke nostalgia and inspire us to take a step back. to think about how we impact our human environment and how this in turn affects us, and to question our values. To slow down and appreciate, to observe and reflect, to reconnect and change attitudes.

This project has opened our eyes to just how much waste urban ecosystems produce. A staggering amount of single use plastic as well as wood and furniture from building sites and domestic homes . An entire studio filled with trash and treasures in a short timeframe - almost all from the Santos area. With such rapid development in our throwaway society it has become abundantly clear that our way of thinking needs to change.

These abandoned items - so many pieces of beautiful craftsmanship from the past - pieces of history from days of old, physical fragments of memories we have reclaimed and encapsulated in time - we hope to serve as a reminder of our collective memory, our sense of place and cultural identity. As we look around ourselves , our actions on this fragile Earth are unsustainable - our footprint, our ecological identity, our waste/pollution and legacy thus far. We call for a return to roots and authenticity, and look to the past to shape the future.

This residency has allowed us to evolve our practice tremendously; an intense and exhausting 3 months in the studio, scavenging the streets and redevelopment sites for materials and becoming part of the community has had a profound impact on us and enabled us to create a body of work we are immensely proud of. Highlighting issues of the utmost importance not only here in Lisboa but on a global scale. As world citizens it has been both a pleasure and a privilege to spend this precious time here and be welcomed into the Wozen family.”

Expanded Eye

Jade Tomlinson and Kevin James