Buinho Creative Residency

Azulejos

Quilt with 3D printed elements, machine embroidery, hand crochet; Cotton, PLA filament, embroidery thread, digital design, crochet (in collaboration with Maria Alice Gomes da Silva)

Azulejos is a textile work created in collaboration with Maria Alice Gomes da Silva, a crochet artist from Messejana who has been practicing her craft for over 60 years and designs her own patterns by hand. The piece reinterprets the visual language of traditional Portuguese tiles through a contemporary, collaborative lens. Drawing inspiration from ceramic motifs found around Messejana—including floral designs and depictions of iconic saints—the quilt weaves together personal observations with the cultural heritage of the region. It combines modern fabrication techniques such as 3D printing and machine embroidery with traditional hand-crochet.

Through this integration, Azulejos celebrates the rich, often-overlooked contributions of folk artists and women craft makers, asserting their practices as vital forms of cultural expression and creative labor.

São João

Cyanotype and laser-cut fabric collage on textile
Cotton, photosensitive emulsion, laser-cut fabric, digital design

São João is a contemporary textile work that reimagines traditional Portuguese iconography through the layered processes of cyanotype and laser-cut fabric collage. Combining natural printing techniques with precise digital fabrication, the piece bridges the tactile intimacy of folk traditions with the aesthetics of modern technology. Referencing motifs commonly associated with Portuguese cultural celebrations, São João functions as a modern quilt—a visual tapestry that pays homage to heritage while questioning how cultural memory is preserved, transformed, and re-presented in an age of mechanization.