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Publication
The ink is still wet: A photographic analysis of LisbonĀ“s streetsigns
| Name: | Description: | Size: | Format: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 81.31 MB | Adobe PDF |
Authors
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
"THE INK IS STILL WET is a photographic and written
investigation into Lisbonās āstreetsignsāāan umbrella term
encompassing graffiti, posters, stencils, stickers, and other
ephemeral urban inscriptions. Developed under the master
program in Design and Visual Culture of IADE - Universidade
Europeia, this project uses streetsigns as tools for decoding urban
identity and storytelling. I argue that these markings, scattered
across the cityās surfaces, operate as a visual language through
which residents, visitors, and anonymous actors stake claims to
space, assert belonging, and engage in dialogue with the city and
each other.
In this text, I investigate why people leave these signs,
their impact on the urban environment, and why photography is
a well-positioned tool to examine and preserve them. Drawing
from a broader theoretical framework of urban sociology,
semiotics, visual culture, and photographic studies, this project
positions Lisbonās streetsigns as meaningful traces of social life,
embedded in the urban fabric and responsive to ongoing
processes of gentrification, displacement, and global events.
Structured around a photobook of the same title, THE
INK IS STILL WET uses analog photography as both a method
of documentation and a tool for interpretationāan expressive
research tool capable of preserving and reframing fleeting visual
culture. The resulting images capture not only what is written on
the street but how it interacts with place-specific elements such
as weather, architecture, and decay. The images shine light on
how these ephemeral interventions contribute to place identity,
cultural memory, and collective resistance. This text also
provides a closer look at the creative process behind the
photobook, tracing the arc from fieldwork and image collection
to the curatorial decisions of layout, sequencing, and material
form.
Rather than aiming for a comprehensive catalog of
Lisbonās signage, THE INK IS STILL WET presents an
atmospheric and interpretive reading of the cityāone that
considers not only what is said, but how, where, and why. It
invites the viewer to read the street as a site of visual dialogue,
where voices are fleeting, contested, and constantly unfolding.
Description
Keywords
Artist book Photography Visual semiotics Urban inscriptions Image