António Domingues
A Frigideira/Tarrafal; together with: Tarrafal/Testemunhos, 1980; 1978
NP: N.p.; (Lisbon: Editorial Caminho)
One of 250 copies with facsimile signatures. This copy bears a graphite inscription below his facsimile signature, dated 23/4/80; First edition, one of 4000 copies. Signed by eleven survivors on the title page.
2927
Serigraph in two colors on Arches paper measuring 19 by 26 inches; square perfect-bound octavo, (342)pp. + 14ff plates. Built on the Cape Verdean island of Santiago in 1933, following...
Serigraph in two colors on Arches paper measuring 19 by 26 inches; square perfect-bound octavo, (342)pp. + 14ff plates. Built on the Cape Verdean island of Santiago in 1933, following the rise of the Portuguese dictator, António de Oliveira Salazar, Tarrafal served as an offshore prison camp for the use of the conservative, nationalistic Estado Novo. Known as the "Campo da morte lenta," or camp of slow death, Tarrafal's population consisted almost entirely of political prisoners from mainland Portugal until 1954, when Salazar bowed to international pressure and closed the camp. By 1960, however, anti-colonial resistance in Africa led to its reopening. Tarrafal closed for good after the Carnation Revolution of 1975, which prompted the fall of Salazar's successor government. The book of eyewitness accounts, published three years after the revolution, not only collects first-person accounts of life in the camp, but also offers transcriptions of medical reports, prisoner rolls and other vital statistics, offering one a complete picture of this dark chapter in modern Portuguese history. The illustration by Domingues (1921 - 2004) appears in the second section of halftone plates, and is printed in black and red on the poster. It depicts a group of gaunt, naked men in a darkened cell in a style somewhat reminiscent of Ben Shahn. Artistically, Domingues was aligned with, and co-founded the Movimento Surrealista Português in 1940; politically, he maintained a lifetime affiliation with the communist party which naturally placed him at odds with the Salazar regime. The text by Romão is an excerpt from a longer account that appears on page 103 of the book. Poster shows mild toning along extremities, otherwise fine; book perfect-bound in heavy paper wrappers printed in red and black, which exhibit some minor wrinkling and spine creases. Near fine overall.


