According to Georges Didi-Huberman, when we observe an image – whether part of our present or a record of a memory – we are inevitably confronted with time. Perhaps for that reason, the philosopher chose a title with poetic resonance for a book exploring the relationship between time and the history of art. In this book, the author sets out a critical and reflexive analysis, combining different perspectives and questioning the foundations of the discipline. He argues that images convey multiple temporalities and that their analysis demands an approach attentive to anachronism, thus challenging the traditional principles of art history and opening up new horizons for studies of visual culture.

His Before Time is a dynamic journey of revisitation and creation, reflecting on the passage of time in art, history and politics and proposing a dialogue between generations of artists, through recovered works and new productions, questioning the linear nature of art history and suggesting a more fluid and simultaneous approach to times and contexts.

Nevertheless, in addition to appropriating the title, the exhibition Diante do Tempo / Before Time does not seek to reflect or to be a case study of Didi-Huberman’s book. The relationship created serves merely as a pretext to look at artistic work with some awareness of that aura that the past can grant it. That process, those works, which over time have occupied other places, physical and symbolic, transform themselves in formal terms without losing their essence.

Here, it is largely the poetry of the title that allows us to expand our thoughts. And it is the sensory, above all, that links us to the artwork. Philosophical reflection can come later, if the spectator so desires – whether they are a scholar, historian or merely curious with an urge to question.

Diante do Tempo / Before Time is an exhibition to be lived, recalled and felt. A space where memories can be revitalised and new associations can emerge. Among the works, we can find political messages, as well as references to history, culture, heritage, and identity. We might be confronted with irony, discomfort, beauty or nostalgia. Or we can just be, feel, without any need for reflexive interpretation.

Each room has its history and the route is simple. The elements, objects and mechanisms on display exist in their own right, to be observed and experienced with no need for understanding or response. The texts accompanying the exhibition can be used as decoding devices or complements, but above all they provide stimulus for thought – and are optional. The spectator has the freedom to be an active participant or simply remain on the margins, inside or outside the exhibition.

Diante do Tempo / Before Time is, therefore, more than anything, a sensory experience, one that favours space and time and rejects excess and noise. Without a linear narrative, each room functions as an autonomous portrait, allowing the viewers to construct their own story from what they see and feel. Perhaps, in the end, they will find a meaning.

Vera Appleton, 2025