The moment I was invited to prepare an authorial photographic series to exhibit within the scope of the cultural program of the Portuguese Semester of the European Commission’s Joint Research Center, under the portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the interest and enthusiasm that I felt at that moment led me to immediately envision a new photographic series, entirely and specifically created for this purpose, that dealt with the theme of the roots and culture of Portuguese people.
The feeling was overwhelming. Ideas ran into each other and I started to conceptualize the project. I even came into contact with some people that I would like to photograph and integrate in the photographic series to become.
Suddenly, Portugal went back into confinement and I found myself unable to complete the project I had prepared given the various restrictions imposed by the Government throughout the country. Initially I decided to simply postpone the execution of the project as I had envisioned it.
But it quickly became clear that this was not the time for a project of that nature and that, by simply waiting for an uncertain future, I was losing the ability to notice and integrate something that was happening “now” and that was of utmost importance.
For already more than a year, and probably for the first time in the History of Humanity, the entire world has been suffering a common tragedy. The human race has been forced to experience one common reality, to endure one common ordeal and, therefore, to share one common “culture”. It’s from the need to express this new reality of human existence, this inner experience that has left no one imune or even indifferent, that emerges this photographic series named “DIS CONNECTION”.
Born in 1980 in the city of Coimbra, Portugal, Rui Barroso graduated in law in 2003. He practiced law for over 7 years as a lawyer, until he decided to give up his profession to dedicate himself exclusively to the world of Arts, namely to Argentine Tango.
Dancer and teacher of Argentine Tango for over 20 years, soon Rui cultivated a passion for photography that quickly became a constant in his life. He took his first film photographs in his teens and was already an adult when he acquired his first digital camera. Since then, he has dedicated himself to street and documentary photography, with a special emphasis on documenting the world of Tango where he spent most of his time.
The pandemic prevented Rui Barroso from exercising his profession, which is why he decided to take the time to invest more seriously in photography. Self-taught until 2020, in October of that year he enrolled in the Professional Photography Course of the Portuguese Institute of Photography, a course he currently attends and which has led him to explore other aspects of photographic art. And that’s how we get to the nature of this project and to Rui Barroso’s first solo exhibition.
As time passes, Rui’s enjoyment to use photography to think about the world and to express what he sees, what he lives and what he feels grows exponentially. But he also loves to use the world and his personal experience to think and reflect on the images he makes, not only before making them but also after they are finished. Like Jorge Molder, a strong inspiration for this project, Rui likes to philosophize life through photography, but also to philosophize about photography based on his life and the reflection on the lives of others.
The future is almost a blank book. But one of the few words that can be read in this practically unwritten book is PHOTOGRAPHY.
Visit Rui Barroso's Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/ruibarrosophotography/NOTE: If you wish to purchase any of these pictures with print quality and certificate of authentication, please send us an email to: JRC-SEMESTRE-PT@ec.europa.euClick on the photos to enlarge.
