"Registo das Horas Perdidas": The Art that Transcends Time and Mental Health

"REGISTO DAS HORAS PERDIDAS | Uma Proto-Coleção" is the new exhibition by the Amélia de Mello Foundation Gallery, which opened on 5 February at the headquarters of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

Curated by Sandro Resende and Clara Forte, the exhibition presents an ongoing investigation by P28 - Associação de Desenvolvimento Criativo e Artístico, which explores the theme of the loss of time and the recording of lost hours through the work of Manuel dos Anjos Mendes.

"Art is not only central to our activity of producing knowledge, but it also plays an important strategic role in impacting on the growth of society", emphasised Isabel Capeloa Gil, President of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, at the opening session of the exhibition. The President also thanked everyone involved in the realisation of the exhibition: "I want to thank you for the possibility of doing this exhibition together, and I also want to thank my colleagues Paulo Pinto, Director of the Gallery, and Rita Paiva and Pona, who created the necessary conditions for us to establish this partnership".

Although the works on display were created chronologically, the exhibition does not follow a set sequence, as this remains unknown. This aspect reflects the passage of time, as curator Clara Forte explains: "They were created between 2016 and 2017. They are not signed because they were never intended as a work. Each one was created in the space of a month or so, drawing every day, recording equations, formulae, annotations, notes every day".

For Sandro Resende, the exhibition represents the culmination of a long journey of research: "I've been at Júlio de Matos Hospital for 25 years, and in those 25 years I've done a lot of research, in various hospitals, in various places, where I've acquired and kept works by people I thought were important. What we're going to see is a first stage, which Clara has been doing with her research over this time".

Paulo Campos Pinto, the Gallery's Director, reinforced the exhibition's alignment with the space's mission and programme, stressing that "we are delighted to welcome this solo exhibition, which is fully in line with the gallery's programme". She also emphasised the social impact of the project, quoting the words of P28: "To give visibility to artists, especially those facing challenges, and to help them overcome barriers. In this case, the walls of the psychiatric hospital".

The exhibition is part of an ongoing effort to promote art and mental health. Rita Paiva e Pona, Advisor to the President and Coordinator of UCP's Social Responsibility Office, emphasised that "this exhibition in fact comes from a line of investment that the university has made in this area of mental health. A proposal to have a community for whom mental health is the meaning of well-being".

"REGISTO DAS HORAS PERDIDAS | Uma Proto-Coleção" will be on show at the Amélia de Mello Foundation Gallery and can be visited until May 2025.