Black and White Memories: Reframing Childhood Colonial Images in <i>Caderno de Memórias Coloniais</i> (2009; 2015)

This article investigates the interaction between the textual and visual components in Isabela Figueiredo’s Caderno de Memórias Coloniais (2009; 2015), focusing on the relationship between the nostalgic childhood photographs and critical narrative. The article argues that, at first glance, the photographs appear to reinforce the colonial and familial myths promoted by the Estado Novo regime; however, these myths are subverted when examined alongside the written narrative, which exposes the violence inherent in Portuguese colonialism. The article proposes that Figueiredo’s intermedial strategy creates a hybrid reader who is encouraged to use the verbal narrative as a tool to ‘read’ each image’s initial framing, thereby uncovering the colonial and familial mythology that underpins them.