Ilhas Studio — A Arca Eterna: Fernando Pessoa e a Posteridade
Exhibition concept and graphic materials for A Arca Eterna: Fernando Pessoa e a Posteridade (The Eternal Ark: Fernando Pessoa and Posterity),
This exhibition commemorates the 90th anniversary of Fernando Pessoa’s death and is presented at Casa Fernando Pessoa, the home where he spent the last years of his life.
The exhibition invites visitors to explore documents uncovered in the writer’s enigmatic ark, offering a glimpse into a personal archive that has long sparked curiosity and speculation.
Visitors are also invited to actively participate by creating their own version of the exhibition, selecting posters designed to be taken away, turning the experience into something both personal and ongoing.
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) was one of the most significant writers of the 20th century and a key figure in Portuguese modernism. Born in Lisbon and educated partly in South Africa, he wrote in both Portuguese and English. He is especially known for creating heteronyms (distinct literary personas with their own biographies, styles, and philosophies), such as Alberto Caeiro, Ricardo Reis, and Álvaro de Campos. Much of his work was discovered after his death in an ark containing thousands of unpublished manuscripts, including The Book of Disquiet. Today, Pessoa is regarded as one of the greatest poets in world literature.
The central element of the exhibition is located in the middle of the space, where five stacks of posters are arranged. These posters are intended to be taken by visitors, allowing them to carry the exhibition experience beyond the confines of the space.
When Pessoa died he left behind a large wooden ark filled with more than 25,000 manuscripts, including poems, philosophical notes, essays, fragments, horoscopes, and texts written under his many heteronyms. The exhibition posters feature selections from these materials.
Ilhas studio developed the exhibition concept in close collaboration with curator António Sáez Delgado. The exhibition reflects on Pessoa’s legacy and its resonance after his death.
