

Water is a Time Machine, Aline Motta
Water is a Time Machine is a multilayered project surrounding the artist’s family members and their lives in Rio de Janeiro at the turn of the twentieth century, a time of political turmoil, which immediately followed the abolition of slavery. It also includes personal documents that belonged to the artist’s mother, her calendars and journals from the 70s, and an account of her death in 2011, which is the central piece and backbone of this work. Comprised of a fiction book, a video and a performance, it explores the intersections between literature and the visual arts. Between word and image, archive and fabulation, it reconfigures memories by using a nonlinear perception of time.
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Published with the support of Trondheim Kunstmuseum on the occasion of the Hannah Ryggen Triennale 2025 and the exhibition “Passing Motherhood,” curated by Marianne Zamecznik and Yaniya Mikhalina.
First published in Brazilian Portuguese by Fósforo Editora and Luna Parque Edições (2022).
A special edition was published for the Sharjah Biennial 15: Thinking Historically in the Present curated by Hoor Al Qasimi (2023).
“Water is a time machine” project was commissioned by the Sharjah Art Foundation and co-commissioned by Fundação Bienal de São Paulo. It was also funded in part by ZUM Photography Grant Instituto Moreira Salles, Brazil, and the “Coincidencia” Program Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.
*
Published with the support of Trondheim Kunstmuseum on the occasion of the Hannah Ryggen Triennale 2025 and the exhibition “Passing Motherhood,” curated by Marianne Zamecznik and Yaniya Mikhalina.
First published in Brazilian Portuguese by Fósforo Editora and Luna Parque Edições (2022).
A special edition was published for the Sharjah Biennial 15: Thinking Historically in the Present curated by Hoor Al Qasimi (2023).
“Water is a time machine” project was commissioned by the Sharjah Art Foundation and co-commissioned by Fundação Bienal de São Paulo. It was also funded in part by ZUM Photography Grant Instituto Moreira Salles, Brazil, and the “Coincidencia” Program Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.
Copyright © 2025 Aline Motta
www.alinemotta.com
First published in Brazilian Portuguese by Fósforo Editora and Luna Parque Edições (2022).
A special edition was published for the Sharjah Biennial 15: Thinking Historically in the Present curated by Hoor Al Qasimi (2023).
Print: Livonia
www.alinemotta.com
First published in Brazilian Portuguese by Fósforo Editora and Luna Parque Edições (2022).
A special edition was published for the Sharjah Biennial 15: Thinking Historically in the Present curated by Hoor Al Qasimi (2023).
Print: Livonia
Edition: 300
ISBN 978-82-93104-40-7
Torpedo Press, 2025
Published with the support of Trondheim Kunstmuseum
ISBN 978-82-93104-40-7
Torpedo Press, 2025
Published with the support of Trondheim Kunstmuseum