2026
THE RESIDENCY
Fernando Mota and Mário Melo Costa spent a week in artistic residency at Capelo developing the multidisciplinary project “Até ao Fim do Mundo” (To the End of the World), a work that blends geology, musical and sonic exploration of natural elements, literature and video.
Inspired by the intense natural surroundings, with a particular focus on the Capelinhos Volcano, the artists explore the relationship between human time and geological time. In this landscape shaped by fire and sea, they reflect poetically on the different conceptions of time throughout history, the life cycles of the planet’s diverse organisms, and the place we occupy on the vast scale of Earth’s time.
The project stems from a dialogue between art and science, in collaboration with geologists from Portuguese geoparks and researchers. This research will result in three interconnected works: a performance, an audiovisual installation and a film – different ways of presenting and connecting the materials generated during the process.
"To the End of the World" completes a trilogy that began with Secret Passage and continued with Before the Rain Comes the Wind, delving deeper into the question of who we are today.
The title is inspired by the final line of Mário Cesariny’s poem *Ship of Mirrors*, evoking the idea of travelling through time, to the very edge of the world we know.
Set in Capelo, amidst volcanoes, sea and horizon, this work invites us to listen deeply to the Earth and to rethink our place upon it.
MAKING A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT FROM A TREE ROOT
During the residency week, the surf washed up a large tree root—already smoothed by the waves—onto the shore at Capelinhos, which Fernando Mota retrieved and brought to the AvistaVulcão space.
Quickly, using the trunks as a base, he began to build a stringed instrument, like a natural sculptural harp. The sound is hypnotic and surprising.
It is particularly inspiring for us to witness how the island and its natural elements reveal themselves not merely as a backdrop, but as a true source of inspiration, and how the artists embrace this time and place with enthusiasm, allowing themselves to be moved by its unique energy.
SOUND EXPERIMENTATION WORKSHOP FOR CHILDREN
Escola EBI-JI Capelo e Praia do Norte
During the session, the artist presented his latest creation: a unique musical instrument, crafted from a log found on the coast of Capelinhos. Over the course of his residency, the log was transformed into an amplified instrument, where nature and sound merge to create a surprising sensory experience.
The children were able to listen to short musical pieces performed by the artist, learn more about his creative process and discover the project he had been developing at Capelo. In an atmosphere of sharing and discovery, they were also invited to try out the instrument, exploring sounds, rhythms and textures, and even to come up with a name for this new creation, which will remain at the Temple of Inspiration as a symbol of this encounter.
It was a session of listening, creativity and connection with nature, where contemporary art engaged with the school community in a lively and participatory way.
Thank you to all the pupils, teachers and teaching assistants at Escola do Capelo and Praia do Norte.
SOUND WORKSHOP FOR THE COMMUNITY
On 28 February, a Sound Workshop open to the community was held with musician Fernando Mota, as part of a series of activities aimed at pushing the boundaries of sound creation and exploring the relationship between art, nature and the local area.
The activity began on the Costado da Nau trail, near the Capelinhos Volcano, on a walk through the unique landscape formed by heather and the small beech trees beginning to sprout in the volcanic sand.
The workshop offered participants an immersive experience, which began with the discovery of a dead tree, a partially uprooted beech. The moment was marked by a pause for exploration, during which Fernando Mota used a contact microphone to capture the sounds of the tree. The participants, equipped with headphones, were invited to interact with the tree, playing it like a musical instrument, some plucking the branches like strings, others using a bow. The resulting sound was unusual and fascinating.
The sound experience was further enhanced by the addition of real strings to the tree trunk, transforming it into a sort of bowed lute or mini-harp, and breathing new life into its sound, which drew everyone into the experiment.
At the end of the walk, the workshop continued with the use of a shotgun microphone, capturing the distant sounds of the waves and the seagulls flying over the slopes of the Capelinhos Volcano, providing an auditory connection with the region’s natural environment.
In the second part of the activity, the participants moved to the Temple of Inspiration, within the AvistaVulcão space, where Fernando Mota presented the stringed instrument he had built during his residency at Capelo and shared details of his creative process, showing excerpts from previous works and previewing the development of his new creation, which will premiere later this year, with the Capelinhos Volcano as one of its key elements.
Fernando Mota is a multifaceted artist who creates experimental musical instruments and sound objects using trees, stones, water and other natural elements, exploring the acoustic and symbolic qualities of the materials. During this residency, he develops sound-creation processes in natural spaces, listening to and transforming the landscape into musical material.
Mário Melo Costa is a director of photography, filmmaker and video artist. For several years now, he has been documenting and filming Fernando Mota’s forays into the performing arts, whilst simultaneously creating other images independently from the same sources, thereby extending the project into the visual arts and audiovisual installation.
