Sintra: place of power

With my work, I capture the moment of triumph at the edge of the earth. Cape Roca is the westernmost point of Europe. In 2020, my dream of reaching this point was shattered by the pandemic, and five years later, I finally made it here. This milestone became an achievement of a ‘place of power’ in the sense that Carlos Castaneda gave it: it is a sacred point in space where the energy of the earth resonates with human energy, giving clarity of vision and the possibility of inner transformation.
The central female figure in an expressive scarlet dress dominates the landscape, symbolizing victory over circumstances for the sake of realizing a dream. At her feet, as if from the rocks themselves, grow the bizarre silhouettes of the castles of Sintra. The manifesto “Sintra Disneyland” occupies a special place in the semantic structure of the canvas. This statement emphasizes the authenticity of the experience: unlike artificial scenery and mass attractions, Sintra and Cape Roca require awareness and perfection from the traveler, rewarding them with true, not surrogate, magic.
The painting “Sintra: Place of Power” is a visual story about an encounter with the elements and with oneself, and a reminder that true magic is revealed only in those places where a person is ready to cast aside old forms of perception and take a step into the unknown, standing at the edge of the earth.
The sketch for the painting is composed of photographs taken by the artist.