Project Statements

JESUS’ BLOOD NEVER FAILED ME YET (2019-2024)

In remote towns of Portugal, locals gather to experience the spectacle of religious processions. Like in many Catholic countries, these festivities pay tribute to the patron saint of a village, acting as both an intimate gesture of personal devotion and a collective expression of faith. 

Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet is a visual exploration of the layers of meaning of processions in Portugal. The reasons for participating in these rituals are not exclusive to believers - they also reflect an intrinsic sense of belonging and identity to the territory. Locals participate with profound conviction and in a state of deep contemplation, in communion with their family and local history.

Each patron saint has unique characteristics and protects the area against all sorts of threats. Ultimately, they have a very practical role in the daily life of the village and are mostly summoned against extreme weather conditions to favor the yearly harvesting. Participants dress up and give life to the religious characters, in a careful and proud re-enactment, not only connected with their spirituality but also in honor of their ancestors who walked the same procession route.

Having grown up in the rural area of Vila Real, in northern Portugal, it is important for me to document these processions, just like my father did, especially as these rituals change. Many factors pose a risk to the villages: depopulation and extreme temperature are affecting the demographic characteristics of these remote areas; internal migration towards urban opportunities for the youth and the aging population, create a void that threatens the continuation of the processions. The resulting detachment from one's roots and the disconnection with the intrinsic spiritual heritage defended by these historical rituals reflect a general loss of people’s bond with the land and the community. 

The events I document in this work represent a fading celebration that still witnesses a sense of belonging and communion where all age groups are represented and share a communal experience with spiritual and practical meaning. Where they still exist, they are organized by the community and for the community. The rare but strong resilience of these traditions in an era of dissolving beliefs and growing individualism acts as a stronghold of local values and active engagement with one’s own environment.

THE HAPPY HERMITS (2018-2024)

In the remote village of Torgueda, Northern Portugal, the Hermits, Maria and Happy, lived in communion with nature, guided by ancient wisdom. Maria, an alchemist, had an ethereal mysticism and dedicated her life to curing others with the healing power of plants. Happy, a philosopher and a prophet, believed that one could only know one's soul by being separated from society. The couple’s lives were guided by the tenets of spirituality, their intrinsic connection with the land, and a deep love for one another.

The hermits, originally from Germany, were followers of the medieval Saint Hildegard of Bingen, who’s vision of integral ecology claimed that the divine could only be found in nature. Saint Hildegard prophesied that a spiritual disconnection with nature would lead to an ecological crisis. Wrapped in a dreamlike existence, their sanctuary felt like a portal to another time. The hermits invited me to stay with them to transmit to me ancient teachings and healing practices.Their world was a melting pot of historical epochs – having lived in caves as had the first Christians during the first century, before settling on a remote hill to live a life of simplicity. Long days were spent cultivating crops. Everything was done in a state of deep contemplation and harmony. The Hermits embraced off-grid living and relied on candles for light. A cave on their land served as a natural fridge, preserving the fruits of their labor.

As the seasons changed, Maria, who had always relied on nature for her healing, was struck by cancer. She refused conventional treatment. Her death was a profound final testament to the natural cycles that Maria had dedicated her life to, and she died as Saint Hildegard’s last martyr. After her passing, we scattered her ashes in the fields surrounding their house. As we returned her ashes to the earth, they glinted under the sun. She had finally become one with the earth. Faced with grief, Happy sunk into a deeper seclusion. He slept near the donkey for solace and warmth. He used his final strength to finish his sacred manuscript; a testament to their love and beliefs. And when he finished writing, he ended his life, claiming that death released the soul from the body and that he was ready to meet Maria again. The Hermits are now reunited through death and remain eternally bound to one another and to the sacred land which holds them.

PAGANINI NON RIPETE (2022- ongoing)

Paganini Non Ripete is a visual investigation of personal identity through untold historical lineage. Exploring personal and collective history, the project focuses on the legacy of violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840). The images in this project stem from many sources, from the public domain to national archives to my own private Paganini family archives. Delving into these archives I’ve obtained insight into my family history and where it may fit in a broader historical picture, emphasizing the significance of photography in documenting the spirit of a particular time period.

On the other hand, I am interested in exploring photography’s artistic potential, as a language capable of creating a fictional narrative. Although my genetic connection to Niccolo Paganini has never been proven, I have grown up to believe that he was my 8th grandfather. Hence, central to this project is the famously forged daguerreotype of Paganini, discovered 60 years after his death in 1900. For a time, it was believed to be the only existing photograph of Niccolo, becoming one of the earliest photo hoaxes in history. When its status as a forgery was revealed, it became an emblematic example of photography’s deceptive potential.

Furthermore, this project presents a posthumous collaboration with my father, who extensively photographed Niccolo Paganini’s presence in our familiar sphere, resulting in the bridging of two centuries of facts and myths into one “eternal present”.

Since 2022 I have embarked on several pilgrimages to Italy, France, Portugal, and Washington D.C to find evidence of Niccolo Paganini’s impact and lingering presence, seeking to prove, through photographic evidence, the immortality of this unprecedented cultural icon.

Paganini Non Ripete is a homage to the spirit of a historical figure through an intimate re-interpretation of the past and celebrates the recovery of memory and testifies its power to resurrect.

Past Exhibition Texts / Statements About My Work

Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet //  O Paraíso Segundo José Maria

ANA PAGANINI // JOÃO FERREIRA

Inaugura o 4º Ciclo de Exposições em Fotografia e Território com projectos fotográficos de dois artistas, em que abordam ambos a temática da cerimónia religiosa. Ana Paganini com Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet, uma série de fotografias a cores, na sua maioria pontuada por retratos de mulheres envergando vestimentas que prestam homenagem às imagens e aos ícones femininos da cultura religiosa portuguesa, um trabalho que foi efetuado em diversas celebrações religiosas em diversos pontos do país. Embora seja visível a participação de adultos e crianças de ambos os sexos, parece claro que o interesse da artista incidiu mais no modo como o feminino se apresenta e executa o acto performativo durante as procissões religiosas.

Através das imagens vertem-se a delicadeza dos tecidos e ornamentos, a riqueza da cor, a imitação da santidade, num processo que terá tanto de aspiracional como de exibicional, onde a virtude se casa com a indumentária, um processo algo similar ao contexto da moda: vestimos roupas por várias razões, não apenas como vaidade, ou protecção, mas também como expressão de pertença e de identificação com algo a que se aspira. Nestas cerimónias que Ana Paganini foi fotografando parece ausente o pendor auto-punitivo, comummente associado à iconografia peregrinacional e cerimonial religiosa portuguesa de outros tempos, pelo que talvez se possa concluir que o teor da participação nestes actos parece afastado da dureza e da penitência, do arrependimento, ou de algo cujo simbolismo e intenção será de uma outra natureza.

  Esse contratste é justamente fornecido por João Ferreira, que por sua vez apresenta O Paraíso Segundo José Maria, onde acompnhamos o trajecto que grupos de homens percorrem, em romaria, na ilha de S. Miguel, uma peregrinação que dura uma semana, onde se chega a caminhar cerca de 40 km’s por dia, junto ao mar. Existem várias notas interessantes, desde logo a curiosidade de que, sendo um culto da religiosidade mariana, é todavia restrito a homens. Num outro registo, o das marcas, das escritas que os homens imprimem no corpo, o qual, aliás, sempre foi lugar de ritual, mas essas marcas, através da possibilidade comparativa das imagens, parecem também elas exibir um poder iconográfico similar ao da iconografia religiosa, quiçá emanando poder espiritual, seguramente alcançável, ou pelo menos imaginável, por quem se aventurar por esta dura peregrinação.

Nesta exposição, as imagens de ambos os fotógrafos misturam-se pela Casa dos Cubos, convocando uma ideia de similaridade e contraste, o ideal religioso e a fé convocados através da performance, onde o corpo se decora e exibe, mas também da dureza e da penitência, quiçá capítulos de uma prática religiosa em contraponto da presença feminina e masculina, veiculada através dos excelentes trabalhos destes dois artistas visuais, com percurso já de reconhecido mérito no âmbito do fotojornalismo e da fotografia documental em Portugal.

João Henriques, Fevereiro 2024

Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet

Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023  - The National Portrait Gallery, London

Portuguese photographer Ana Paganini has been documenting religious processions as part of a long-term project to explore the influence of Catholic rituals and traditions on the lives of Portuguese teenagers. The square frame on her medium format camera enables Paganini to focus on specific individuals within the crowds. Here, young girls dressed in rented costumes impersonate Catholic saints, with poses reminiscent of religious sculptures. Their performances are undercut by small details, such as vividly painted nails, which bring a contemporary moment  to an otherwise traditional scene.

Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet

I've always regarded Ana Paganini's work as a confluence between the traditions of war photojournalism and fashion reporting. The first of these categories seeks to show the phenomenon of a conflict and its impact on people and places through the use of emotion (and the expectation that it will multiply), while the second focuses on the modus – encompassing not only garments but the whole set of aesthetic options, more or less exotic, that convey the intended message. Even if paradoxically, both categories meet at times.

In this particular exhibition, one side of Ana’s practice is revealed (which we had already seen in part in the forcados series): the documentation of performance, more specifically of the spectacle of religion. The performance of devotion, processions in public space, has its own codes and traditions. What the artist does in this case is the documentation of these passionate demonstrations and what they mean in the contemporary context: renting polyester suits for €10 a day; the sheaths that drag on the boiling hot tar; the atmosphere of querido mês de Agosto in the villages; the electro-technical apparatus and accessories that are kept all year round in the garage (such as Christmas lights) taken to the streets.

What I admire about Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet is the dignity with which the artist portrays subjects and objects. Light always appears as a miracle (a dancing sun?) and people as perfectly aware of the living mystery and the importance of repeating the supposed gestures that were the holy roots of something and somewhere. What binds me to these images is the ecstasy of being together. It is possible that this is the only truly luminous human phenomenon and ritual: we’re not done with each other, yet.

Isabel Cordovil

Velharias Morais

Memory Game

For documentary photographer Ana Paganini, it all began with time. The time Paganini spent in Vila Real, at her grandfather’s house. Then, the time spent at Velharias Morais, the antique shop behind her grandfather’s house. The time Sr. Morais had spent in Switzerland collecting objects, the time since he’d moved to Portugal collecting more, the time spent arranging and rearranging objects in the store—mementos that had belonged to people whose time had run out. The time Paganini spent learning to take pictures. Time as collection, recollection, and composition.

Is a memory created or found? What about a photograph? Memory, like photography, involves both the passing of time (collection) and the freezing of time (recollection). Composition—the relationship between objects—helps make a photograph memorable, and memory itself is a game of composition. It’s easier to recall something when it relates to something else; any time spent playing memory games proves this without a doubt. Ana Paganini´s grandmother lost her ability to recall memories due to Alzheimer's disease. This game is dedicated to her.

**Instructions:**

There are 10 pairs of photographs. Lay them face down and shuffle. Organize them into a grid (or don’t). Turn two cards over. If they match, set them aside and turn over two more. If these also match, you probably haven’t shuffled well enough; they’re not really supposed to match this early in the game. At this stage, it’s helpful to name what’s in each image so that you can remember more easily. Once you name them, you’ll develop feelings around the images: aversions, or attractions. This is normal. If you’re playing by yourself, keep turning cards over two at a time. Develop a system; see if that helps. Sometimes it doesn’t. If you have opponents, take turns, and take care—there are two images featuring clocks; there are several paintings of ships. The differences are slight, the objects are obscure and if you don't win, there's always next time.

Isa Toledo

Velharias Morais

A place where absence lives

Forget photography for an instant. Forget its potential for memorabilia, its memento mori whisper. Instead, dwell on this magical place, Velharias Morais, celebrating the immortality of an intangible past for all eternity. On a table we see human traces, vestiges of everyday life that give order to the apparent chaos of this curiosity emporium. In fact, There is no chaos here, just a subtle, quasi-invisible cadence, the care with which the current owner places and vividly describes each object to visitors. They are more than dusty curios. The space is inhabited by the successive absences of all who lived, enjoyed and shaped each precious object.

Ana Paganini's poetic images are small tableaux vivants infused with magic, fairy tales where each physical and photogenic artifact transports us through all the world’s childhoods ever, both lived and dreamed. These delicate and enigmatic images demand our undivided attention, gradually revealing minute hidden details. Both the objects and images that portray them are time capsules, altars that oscillate between the sacred and the profane. A eulogy to all lives hidden within.

Think solely of photography now. Admit that every image is an artifice, always more hidden than revealed, where paths are signposted while never fully displaying their meaning. The reflected objects and dimensions ensconced in these images sing a ballad of death, resurrection, absence and presence. They are moments of an ancient eternity, reflected in a game of mirrors where past, present and future come together to celebrate the shared humanity of all our lives. 

Susana Paiva, translated by Rodrigo Vaz

Fotografias de Ana Paganini

Pediu-me a Ana para escrever algumas palavras sobre o seu trabalho fotográfico.

Há dois anos vi pela primeira vez algumas fotografias numa pequena exposição em Mateus. Agora pela internet pude ver umas largas dezenas.

Há dois anos num passeio no Douro, que não esqueço, vi a Ana movimentando-se de máquina em punho, saltitando da proa à ré do pequeno barco com um largo e contagiante sorriso e com os olhos a brilhar, à procura das suas presas e troféus.

Tudo a atrai. Uma máquina que dispara numa roda-viva de 360 graus. Um olho curioso e guloso que entra pelo dentro das coisas. Uma pessoa que não esconde o seu espanto pelas singularidades e pelos contrastes. 

Sei que fotografa na senda do seu pai desde que se lembra e até hoje, obsessivamente, nunca mais largou a máquina que se tornou determinante na sua maneira de ver e entender o mundo.

 Sei que para mim, e isso basta-me, são já muitas as fotografias feitas pela Ana que me encantam.

A Ana tem tudo para continuar. Apreciemos o seu trabalho hoje e esperemos pelas surpresas futuras.

Manuel Costa Cabral

Lisboa, 31 de Outubro de 2013