The Hermitage of Nossa Senhora da Conceição was built in Lisbon in 1707. Reopened in 2008, this small chapel has since been used as a gallery to display work by contemporary Portuguese artists. Our mission was to make people aware of the gallery’s reopening and new purpose.

We were fascinated by the chapel’s original function as a place of worship. The dual presence of divinity and popular culture led us to play with idiomatic expressions in the Portuguese language that refer to God. We sought out formulae used by everyone, which, by force of repetition, have crystallized in the Portuguese language while maintaining their status as conscious evocations of the divine. This collection of popular expressions highlighted the diversity of words, proverbs and idiomatic expressions mechanically repeated by each one of us in our day-to-day lives. Using Knockout we spelled out expressions like “God is good” and “the Devil isn’t so bad”; as well as space-evocative ones like “God save us from the bad neighbors on our doorstep” and “When God closes the door, he opens a window,” which were placed next to the neighbors’ façade and in the window, respectively.

Walls have recorded mankind’s history from the beginning. This tiny alley in Portugal is a contemporary remake on Lou Dorfsman’s wall in a medieval setting. A great example of restraint and abundance.