"The work of Maria Manuel Lira involves states of mind, temperaments and moments of everyday life in an urban context under pressure.

Through real images photographed and later engraving through different processes, from linoleum to copper, she collects these states of mind, instants and feelings as if there was an obsession in expressing them, and an almost sickening need to externalize them to stay sane.

This recent set of prints shows an atmosphere of catharsis, as if it were a cry. Through Etching, Aquatint and Spit Bite, moments of fear, despair, anguish, memories and failures that took long to break are represented. It is not the feeling of loneliness but the loneliness of feelings.

Maria Manuel Lira graduated in landscape architecture and postgraduate in communication and image, but her work has been developed around engraving.

She has been attending the engraving course of the Base art school for 2 years and develops his work at AGAF (Associa��o de Gravura e �gua Forte) where she had some collective exhibitions."