Nuno Serrão (Portugal)
The Cartography of Discomfort

Most paths are worth doing. Even the ones that, in the end, make us walk back. We share these same paths with others, some have walked them before, others are yet to start the journey, but all of us at our own pace.

There is something to be said about the questions that can arise from the discomfort of a long drive, and I'm afraid that today, with all the shortcuts that allow us to travel and arrive faster than ever, we no longer have the time to understand what we are slowly losing along the way.

This photographic series captures these shared journeys through a collection of medium format analog photographs. The deliberate use of analog photography slows down the creative process, mirroring the contemplative nature of a long, meandering drive. These empty roads become metaphors for life's paths, inviting viewers to pause and reflect on their own journeys.

The images, devoid of human presence yet heavy with human implication, create a visual discourse on absence and potential. They challenge us to reconsider our relationship with time, progress, and the spaces we inhabit. By focusing on the road itself - a symbol of both connection and separation - the project examines the tension between our desire for speed and efficiency and our need for introspection and meaningful experience.

Nuno Serrão is a Portuguese multidisciplinary artist working at the edge of poetic narrative and raw minimalism. Driven by curiosity, he builds non-linear projects around uncomfortable, ambiguous subjects that press against our comfort zones and ask what is fundamental versus what is emergent.

His work has been described as finding beauty at the intersection of nature and humanity, with cinematic compositions and an unorthodox approach to portraiture that reflect a distinctive sensitivity to the world. His minimalist philosophy shapes his conceptual, aesthetic and editorial approach, evident in his work.