Ines and Florbela /  by Marie Durquet

I first noticed Ines in an Angolan nightclub in Lisbon. She is not only a dancer, but an engineer who keeps many of Lisbon's old buildings standing. I was excited to photograph her several weeks later at the Jardim das Amoreiras, located next to the Fundacao Arpad Szenes-Vieira da Silva and the Mae de Agua aqueduct. Ines had her own ideas and wanted a collaboration. She jumped into trees and changed from one outfit into another as the sun was setting. Ines expressed herself in a poetic way, so I am pairing these photos with words by the Portuguese poet Florbela Espanca, whose work I discovered during my trip. Florbela died at the age of thirty-six and nearly one hundred years ago, she wrote her verses.

From "Volupia"

E do meu corpo os leves arabescos

Vao-te envolvendo em circulos dantescos

Felinamente, em voluptuosas dancas

From "Os Versos Que Te Fiz"

Que a boca da mulher e sempre linda

Se dentro guarda um verso que nao diz

Lisboa /  by Marie Durquet