Imagem
Associação
-
[i] -
[i] -
[i] -
[i] -
[i]
-
[i] -
[i]
Reflexão
Monument to the "Discoveries"
Photograph (side view and at night) of the Monument to the “Discoveries”, taken in 1940 at the Portuguese World Exhibition in Lisbon.
The monument, built for the colonial exhibition, then rebuilt in Belém in 1960 and kept in the public space until today, is one of the biggest propaganda works of the Estado Novo regime, with the aim of reviving and consolidating the Portuguese colonial narrative and Salazar's government. With a height of 56 meters and the shape of a stylized boat, it aims to invoke the image of the caravel and pay homage to the relevant figures of the colonial invasions, from kings to navigators, priests and other historical figures, seeking to be “the cry of the exhibition and a synthesis of our glorious past” (quote taken from a script of the time).
In the back view of the monument, the caravel is transformed into a cross, emphasizing the myth of the colonizing mission by “order of God”.
The monument has been the subject of questions and discussions about its permanence in the public space, having been graffitied and intervened upon and the site of demonstrations and counter-demonstrations on colonial issues.