Madalena PEQUITO, Portugal

Planting homes, 2025,

150 x 100 cm, Acrylic on canvas

Basically, what I meant here was the beauty of open borders while keeping the identity and uniqueness of each country. I have travelled a lot in the EU and outside and there is a definite feeling of being welcomed and feeling safe. There is a very big housing crisis in Portugal at the moment which is quite sad, but I also feel like being part of the EU opens doors for me, I know I am not in a closed space, like being part of something bigger. So, I painted a girl placing houses inside and outside a fence. However, this fence is not really closing anything as it is open. The trees intertwined in the fence represent memory and identity. I always paint trees as a symbol of resistance and of collective memory, the idea that generations and generations spread their culture and that one’s identity and culture can’t be erased. These trees navigate freely across borders. Meanwhile I also represented some very typical Portuguese types, as reference to my country. I chose the tiles in white and blue because they’re packed with history, from our Moorish influences to the country we are today.