Max Bedulenko visited Lisbon in 2007 and the memories he brought home were about a sunny city adorned with “azulejos” (traditional portuguese tiles), close to the natural sightseens of Sintra. However, the Lisbon he protraited is very different.
Is a decadent city in a process of desintegration and change, the result of a miscalculated technological evolution. The old laws make no sense or are ignored, and the new ones are yet to be invented, he told Exame Informática (technology magazine).
Although not many emblematic monuments are represented (only Elevador de Santa Justa), the brands and advertisment represented are well known to anyone who visits the portuguese capital. Here and there you can find references to Fado, to Porto Wine, some reproductions of famous “azulejos” pannels and even some flying trams.
People wear light glasses, a device that brightens up what people see, brigning confort and hapiness instead of the harsh reality they are in, the artist tells.
And maybe, the reason why Lisbon turned so bleak is hidden in these pictures. We do not know if it was the intention of the artist, but hidden in two of the images we found an old (1935) propaganda poster of Salazar (right-wing dictator from 1932 to 1968).
The Portuguese Portal of Fantasy and Science Fiction 