TAM's Logbook

Essay composed of photographs from the restoration collection of the Alberto Maranhão Theater (TAM) in the city of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte.

The essay, composed of photographs from the restoration collection of the Alberto Maranhão Theater (TAM) in the city of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, which I witnessed between 2019 and 2021, features images that seek to highlight the workers, who are often forgotten throughout history. While the images serve as historical records, they also help us understand that they function as different and deeper layers of that visually narrated history, expanding visual interpretations beyond a mere historical record.

During the documentation project, some images of the progress of the work were published weekly on the Instagram profile @diariodebordotam so that the public could follow the steps. And upon the completion of the TAM in December 2021, fully restored, an exhibition was held in the Noble Hall, which remained open for public visits until the end of January 2022.

Presentation Text

Photographs can be a simple record of the reflection of light. And they can be whatever we make of them.

I, the photographer, made the interpretation of the record; then, an editing was done with different perspectives to give it a voice and to create, together, a space for dialogue between us. We are in a conversation, perhaps even creating a form of dance. This journey began in July 2019, or rather, during my first visits, as a child, to performances and rehearsals.

My act of documenting is made up of aesthetic choices that create a collection of images capable of telling many other stories. This work is an open-ended excerpt. The edits reveal the stories, and the dialogues create the edits. It is, in fact, an invitation to a dance of perspectives. Now it is up to us to open the ballroom with the first steps. The definition of this dance emerges with time and the meaning we will give to the stories that justify being memories.

Just like memory, being there was to see a continuous movement of things happening in a very dynamic way. I was there witnessing a historical stage for Rio Grande do Norte and the beloved TAM – Teatro Alberto Maranhão. My role was to create a poetic visual record of the revitalization process of TAM, in a free creation, that could also serve as a historical record of that moment as a fact. Having full autonomy to propose, create, and simply be, is a dream that is being shared with everyone.

I am honored to say that I have produced a document that contributes to the continuation of the history of TAM and Rio Grande do Norte. A continuity for us, made up of the present, past, and future.

Let's imagine

Instead of entering and seeing a visual exhibition, how about entering a ballroom dance?

On one side, I, who invite you to dance, with my perspective.

On the other side, you, with your perspective and understanding of what you are about to see.

Our dance will be a dialogue involving shapes, tones, and compositions that the images and their subjects bring to us. The eyes will navigate the images, creating their own rhythm, finding the melodie

Nessa dança imaginária, temos uma orquestra tocando uma música e um regente. A orquestra são eles, os fotografados, que fizeram parte da revitalização desse grande regente chamado TAM – Teatro Alberto Maranhão. O tempo dos passos, o estilo da dança e o sentido estão na afinação e habilidade deles, os fotografados.

And for those who have never danced, just start. One step this way and another that way, find the rhythm and flow.

Imagine dancing, and you will already be there.