ON MY BOOKSHELF

Came across this photo series and book, Casa das Sete Senhoras, by photographer Tito Mouraz. I really loved the concept and black and white photography which were taken in an area of Portugal, Beira Alta. . Must add this book to my collection.

“It is still said around here that the house is haunted. At the house there lived seven women, all maiden sisters. One of them was a witch. On full moon nights, the ladies in their white garments would fly from the balcony to the leafy branches of the chestnut across the street. From there, they would seduce men who passed-by.”

“I started by doing some portraits of people. They interested me because they have always lived here and are attached to land just like trees. They speak about time, about their memories; their losses… many of them already dress in black,” Tito remarks. “This series gives an account of a persistent return to the same place, so as to scrutinise its differences – the slow deactivation of agricultural practices, the gradual transformation of the territory, ageing – in spite of listening to the same owl, to the same fox, to the same stories.”