From 16 July to 19 September, the Public Library of Évora presents Fever of Words, an exhibition by Sara Bichão, curated by Luísa Especial.

Fever of Words brings together a group of sculptures and drawings by Sara Bichão that engage, in different ways, with the idea of the body: a body understood both as a sum of parts and in its fragmentary condition, marked by its potency as well as by the lingering presence of what is absent.

Within this body of work, recurring gestures characteristic of the artist’s practice become evident, such as the assemblage of elements of diverse origins and configurations through layering and manual operations that enable their union. Nails, threads, and metal structures make visible the mechanisms of support and the tensions between the different components. Some objects carry a performative memory, as in 0, where this dimension is intertwined with sensations of temperature, vulnerability, and risk.

The intrinsic properties of the materials employed—often found and reconfigured—simultaneously accentuate their robustness and their transience. Their previous use is, at times, indiscernible. Matter transforms over time, much like the centuries-old books preserved in this library, whose materiality bears witness to a long history of reading and transmission. The marks inscribed upon them by time—such as the altered texture of their bindings, the undulation of their pages, and the stains on the paper—are among the traces that reinforce their condition as living objects, bearers of memory and knowledge.

The title of the exhibition is taken from a work by the artist that is not included in this presentation. In that piece, a light, arched object rests between two raised fingers of a glove. Although held in a precarious balance, the arch is able to rotate around its own axis. The image evokes a state of permanent tension between balance and collapse, restraint and movement, resonating in different ways throughout the body of work brought together in this exhibition.

Presented as part of FIDANC 2026 – International Festival of Contemporary Dance, the exhibition features a selection of works from the JF Collection alongside works by the artist.

In tribute to Manon Harrois.