In this exhibition, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in a universe where darkness reveals unexpected forms and beings that inhabit the boundaries between the real and the imaginary. Eighteen artists were challenged to interpret the night and its inhabitants, each through their own visual language and personal practice. From the depths of the sea emerge Clara Rêgo’s sculptural works, which engage in dialogue with the hybrid beings of Metade Sereia Metade Peixeira (“Half Mermaid, Half Fishmonger”) and the pair of amphibious fish created by Oficina Marques. Among cliffs and caves appear Nadia Frolova’s metallic crawling creatures and Ana Pinho’s many-faced demon, alongside Galhanas’s reinterpretation of the Medusa myth.

Pedra no Rim’s swift bats contrast with the more robust beings of Dylan Silva, while the interplay of shadows cast by Luís Royal’s candleholders illuminates the colourful organic forms of Maria Imaginário. Within this nocturnal territory, the ancestral structure created by Onree may serve as a shelter for Caetano Oliveira’s black birds, all under the curious gaze of Carlos Manuel Gonçalves’s mischievous creatures.

The night is further populated by Azoriano’s many monsters and Francisco Pessegueiro’s unsettling figures, as well as a particularly cheeky ghost by Vitor Reis, after all, the night is also a place of experimentation and sexual freedom. To confront these creatures, it may be wise to rely on Pedro Moreira’s masks, Alquimista Ceramics’ vest of amulets, and, of course, a healthy dose of courage. In this way, a bestiary and a fictional ecology are created, exploring the many possibilities of the night, a realm where both sin and pleasure reside.