Nuno Henrique (Portugal)
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Luso-American Foundation

Nuno Henrique’s work is based on accounts of botanical species, the result of his contact with the indigenous forest on his native island, Madeira, in Portugal. The forest only survives in the most inaccessible parts of the island, today occupying a very small part of the territory. His work is an indexical trace of this absence, although it is less about the species therein and more about exploring the field of botany, which is infinitely connected to all aspects of life. He approaches the extinction of the land and its species, largely the result of neo-colonial practices, with emotion and nostalgia. His large paper cast drawing is based on a technique developed by archaeologists in the 19th century. On view at Location One is The tree from which canoes are made, a monument that refers to the North American tulip tree, used by Native Americans to build dugout canoes from the bark.

Born in 1982, Madeira Island (Portugal), Nuno Henrique studied sculpture at FBAUP (Faculty of Fine Arts), University of Porto, and attended the Individual Project study program at Ar.Co (Lisbon). He has participated in a number of exhibitions, including Linha de Partida (Madeira, 2009), Forty Paper Casts (Módulo Art Gallery, Lisbon, 2010), “The old Dragon Tree that existed in Ponta do Garajau fell down into the sea during heavy rains from southeast, occurred during the autumnal equinox of 1982″, Porta 33, Madeira, 2010, and As Saudades da Terra (Módulo Art Gallery, Lisbon, 2012). He has been awarded grants from Porta 33 (Funchal, 2009 and 2010), the National Cultural Centre (CNC, Lisbon, 2011), and Fundacion Botin (Santander, 2012) and is currently a resident at Location One with a grant from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Luso-American Foundation.