Two Manifolds

Nuno Pimenta built a temporary installation in the island of San Miguel, pointing at three places closely linked to the local context of the Azores Archipelago.

Two Manifolds is a semi-temporary autoconstructed viewpoint to the sea in a forgotten area of Ponta Delgada city, in the island of S. Miguel, the Azores Archipelago. It was built by Nuno Pimenta during the Walk&Talk Public Art Festival, an annual arts festival based on site specific cultural creations.

The Azores archipelago is partly defined by the continuous search for new horizons. Two Manifolds explores this insular condition, a bipolar relationship between the permanent and the temporary, the act of going or staying. It invokes the desire to raise ourselves to be able to see a little more of this seemingly infinite horizon.

The viewpoint is located in Santa Clara, one of the most peripheral places of Ponta Delgada, close to the port of the city, one of the major exchange gates between the archipelago and the world. The structure is a tripartite wooden box, which resembles freight boxes that point at three places closely linked to the local context and to the archipelago’s geography.

The piece consists of two levels – a higher level for observation and introspection, a lower one for rest and stay. Each of them is made of distinct materials with different resistance to time, all built through processes of autoconstruction and in collaboration with local artisans and volunteers. The top level that will last for a given time period and is easy to disassemble for storage and maintenance purposes is in cryptomeria wood (or Sugi, an endemic Japanese tree also abundant on the island of S. Miguel).

Nuno Pimenta, Two Manifolds installation, Ponta Delgada, Azores, 2016

Nuno Pimenta, Two Manifolds installation, Ponta Delgada, Azores, 2016

Nuno Pimenta, Two Manifolds installation, Ponta Delgada, Azores, 2016

Nuno Pimenta, Two Manifolds installation, diagram

Nuno Pimenta, Two Manifolds installation, plan

Nuno Pimenta, Two Manifolds installation, elevation

Two Manifolds, Ponta Delgada, S. Miguel island, Azores
Design: Nuno Pimenta
Materials: Cryptomeria wood, concrete
Dimensions: 4,46 x 3,86 x 3,86 meters
Year: 2016

Two Manifolds

Nuno Pimenta built a temporary installation in the island of San Miguel, pointing at three places closely linked to the local context of the Azores Archipelago.

Latest on News

Latest on Domus