Turn around. A Look at the EDP Foundation Art Collection (Part I) at MAAT will feature Joana Vasconcelos’ work Passerelle from February 2026 to January 2027. Curated by João Pinharanda, Margarida Chantre and Sérgio Mah, the exhibition offers a kaleidoscopic reading of artistic creation in Portugal over the past 25 years.
For this presentation, Vasconcelos’ Passerelle (2005), from the EDP Foundation Collection, was selected. The work consists of a mechanical structure reminiscent of industrial machinery, featuring a procession of earthenware dogs suspended by the neck. Visitors are invited to activate the mechanism via a foot pedal, setting in motion a repetitive cycle that results in the noisy destruction of the pieces. The title references the world of fashion while simultaneously alluding to the latent violence of obsolescence and consumption, turning the mechanical gesture into a reflection on contemporary society.
Placed within a parcours that crosses generations and artistic practices, Passerelle exemplifies Vasconcelos’ dialogue between form, social critique, and playful-sensorial intervention, highlighting the EDP Foundation Collection as a testament to the vitality and diversity of contemporary Portuguese art.
