Around ruins: some notes on feminist and decolonial conversations in aesthetics

Abstract

Although using different strategies, Portuguese artists Mónica de Miranda and Filipa César make us think about and reflect on the ruins of the Portuguese ‘empire’ but also on the ruins—and the remains—of European colonialism and its patriarchal backbone. Their work opens the possibility of discussing aesthetics from feminist and decolonial perspectives, departing from the category of ‘ruins’ and considering the many ways through which these ruins and their multiple inflections contribute to the creation of potential affective geographies and memories.