Negative Space and Electric Traces

Negative Space and Electric Traces examines the photographic negative both as a technical process and as a broader cultural metaphor. Inverting tone and colour, the negative evokes ideas from mathematics, physics, psychoanalysis, and philosophy, resonating strongly within the visual arts. Bruna Sirgado’s work explores this inversion by transforming images of nature—plants, textures, landscapes—into luminous, otherworldly forms that suggest hidden energies and invite new perspectives on the natural world. Janine Oliveira’s Revive the Electricity focuses on abandoned industrial sites between Tomar and Leiria, employing the “American night” technique to isolate objects once central to electrical power. Her harshly lit images metaphorically revive these forgotten spaces, casting electricity as both memory and life force. Polytechnic Institute of Tomar