Simone Matos has always lived near the Atlantic Ocean and that can ultimately change a person. The typical blues and greys from the Lisbon West coast climate are visible and present in her life and are one of the bases for her Jasmim Project – a collage work collective that was first born as a quite private and personal creative journal.

Today, the graphic designer has challenged herself and others to make these images together, as a way to relax from the daily craziness but especially to provide a creative mind boost for everyone of every age, allowing people to express their feelings in a physical mood board. 

Therefore, her project wanders between her hometown Torres Vedras (only half an hour distance from the capital) and Lisbon where she works. The daily pendulum between the two cities also gives a reason for the gatherings: as a form to escape the mundane life.

HOW DID JASMIM PROJECT HAPPEN? 

SM – This project comes from the heart. It was created about 4 years ago when I started to make image clippings about dreams and magic. It is a truth that I have always made collages. I used to personalize my school notebooks and files but is was between high school and the university when I’ve gained a different detailed aesthetic sensibility. My artistic essence started when I began looking at fashion magazines, cutting different visual textures, colors, and feminine elements and putting it all together in such a way it made sense to me. My first collage, which is called “Jasmim” of course is a composition between art, textures and feminine details – which is the essence of my creations.

BESIDES BEING A VERY PERSONAL ART FORM TO EXPRESS IDEAS, MOODS OR EVEN PRIVATE DESIRES, WHAT LED YOU TO SHARE IT WITH OTHERS?

SM – Well between that period I mentioned, I did voluntary work with elderly people and I feel that finding a space/time for a workshop, to create a group in such a way they can relax and develop their creativity as well as their mental balance is a lovely thing. And that can work for everyone.

FROM WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN DURING YOUR WORKSHOPS, DO YOU FEEL THERE IS DISCRIMINATION IN SOME ARTISTIC EXPRESSIONS IN PORTUGAL, LIKE WEAVING OR EMBROIDERY WHICH ARE STILL REGARDED AS MANUAL“FEMININE/FEMALE” TASKS? COLLAGE PER SE IS NOT USUALLY ACCOMPLISHED BY MALE ARTISTS AND YOU DON’T SEE THEM AS OFTEN AS A WOMAN IN YOUR ENCOUNTERS. 

SM - Well actually I don’t feel that even though the way I create a collage is based on dreams, hopes or wishes and of course in that feminine essence. I try to bring some graphic and poetic style along with fashion and surrealism and that, in the last case, is quite “feminine”. However, I’ve had male participants at the workshops which resulted in something very personal and they expressed their imagination in a masculine counterbalance. It was a change of scene. 

DO YOU FEEL THAT A COLLAGE AS WELL AS URBAN ART CAN HAVE A SOCIAL IMPACT AND ACT AS AN INTERVENTION FORM? DO YOU THINK THERE IS SOME SORT OF A GROWING NATIONAL CONSCIENCE THAT IT CAN IMPACT IN A POLITICAL VIEW? 

SM – With absolute no doubt! Every single art form may have an inventive role in the most various inventive ways and collage is no different. In other countries it is even used in economy magazines as illustrations so it all depends on the meaning and way you want the collage to work – the importance you want it to have.

AFTER YOUR VOLUNTARY WORK, HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED TO ORGANIZE ONCE AGAIN SOME WORKSHOPS AND ENCOUNTERS IN NURSING HOMES OR SENIOR UNIVERSITIES? WHAT KIND OF IMPACT DO YOU THINK IT COULD HAVE?

SM – That’s a wonderful question! Thinking about it, with the memory loss process due to aging, it is quite necessary to create some incentives for creativity as a way to exercise the brain. Establishing a workshop ou formations dynamic that could be applied the older people, stimulating their minds, rescuing the past and making sure about their hopes and believes would be an amazing opportunity. It would give real importance for the expression of their feelings and it optimizes their life perspective. For me it would be the best reward possible!  

FINALLY, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY II WAS YOUR BIGGEST CONQUEST SO FAR WITH THIS PROJECT? 

SM – That answer is very simple! The sharing during the workshops. It was something that I started to think about but it only became real after I was invited by an agency to be the instructor of an Instax (Fujifilm) workshop. It was really a dream come true and it was so beautiful to see how it all went so smoothly and how all the participants were so focused on it. For me making a collage was always my mindfulness moment: to slow down, to get focus at the moment and forget about all the distractions (mobile phone eventually!). It is really great to see this dream, the Jasmim Project, to be embraced by so many people and becoming even more real. 

In retrospect Simone’s dream, it can be everyone’s dream. From young artists looking for a way to express their art forms or ideas to a wider audience who just need a break to let their minds get imaginative, or essentially older people to which collages can still offer the sense of freedom and belonging to the community showing that the past can also be a future. Jasmim is not only about mindfulness is about dreams. It’s about magic. Here are some links to follow:
instagram.com/jasmimproject/
cargocollective.com/jasmimproject

Words by Lisbon captain Claudia Silva.