Alexandre Estrela

Other

Friday 25 September · until 21 Nov

On the occasion of RedSkyFalls, on show at the Portuguese Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, Alexandre Estrela presents a series of Réplicas at Galeria Zé dos Bois, in which sentinel fruit flies respond in real time to the planet's seismic activity.

On the occasion of his piece RedSkyFalls, on show at the Portuguese Pavilion in Venice at the 2026 Biennale, Alexandre Estrela presents a series of Réplicas. These Réplicas are characterised by alerting to high-risk seismic activity in geographically distant locations. For Galeria Zé dos Bois, a Réplica was conceived in which fruit flies, or sentinels, respond in real time to near and distant seismic activity through a pre-digital sensitivity. Under close observation, we can recognise in the behaviour of these artificial sentinels the infra-signals of the underground disturbances that from time to time erupt in this ecosystem. The sentinel flies, enclosed in logos appropriated from the precursor of process-poetry Wlademir Dias-Pino, roam and react in synchrony with the seismic activity of planet Earth each time it declares a tremor. Monday to Saturday, from 18h to 22h. Credits: Curated by Ana Baliza and Ricardo Nicolau.