The English photographer Camille Watson runs her studio in one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Lisbon: Mouraria. “A Tribute” shows a series of portraits of the older inhabitants of this district.
Inspired by the district, the old houses and the original inhabitants of this district, she decided to start this special project.
Mouraria
Mouraria is often a bit overlooked as one of the oldest districts. Everyone knows Alfama after a visit to Lisbon, but Mouraria is less well known. While it is not unlikely that you (unknowingly) have visited this district. The neighborhood is located between Alfama and Graça.
For a long time this has been a deprived area in Lisbon. The large, wide streets were okay to visit during the day, but in the evening it was not recommended for tourists to walk into this district.
After the revival of Alfama, where crime was also very high 20 years ago, it is finally Mouraria’s turn. Locals say that for more than 200 years nothing has happened in the district. This was the motivation for Camille Watson to immortalise the older residents in her art project.
‘They were the same’
Camille Watson said in an interview that the dilapidated buildings and the elderly in the neighbourhood are the same. Because nothing had been done about the buildings in Mouraria for more than 200 years, they were full of holes and cracks. And because of the high density of elderly people in the neighbourhood, the old people together with the old buildings were outdated. They were one and the same for Camille and so they represented their faces as part of the walls and streets.
If you walk through Mouraria (you can also find the portraits in Alfama), I am sure that these portraits will also speak to you!
