Silber Gallery, July 7 - August 2, 2025

 

Goucher College is proud to present in collaboration Zo Gallery, saudade, a solo exhibition of photographs by Camila De Ilhéus. Rooted in the untranslatable Portuguese concept of saudade—the love that remains, somewhere between grief and yearning—Gomide’s images are tender documents of migration, memory, and belonging.

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Drawing on her experience as a "citizen of in-betweens," De Ilhéus' work navigates the complex terrain of identity, loss, and cultural dissonance. Born in Brasil and now living in the United States, De Ilhéus’ photographs trace the emotional residues of assimilation—the parts of self surrendered in the crossing of lands and languages. Though English has become the daily medium of her expression, she still dreams, yearns, and loves in Portuguese.

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Since emigrating in 2014, De Ilhéus has turned her lens toward herself, her family, and friends who form chosen kinship networks, capturing moments of intimacy during visits back to Brasil. Her photographs reflect a profound negotiation of home: both a cherished place and a shifting memory that sometimes no longer recognizes its own.

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If nostalgia and poignancy could meet and create something unnamed yet universally felt, De Ilhéus’ saudade would be born—a state of beautiful ache that transcends language and borders alike.

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Artist: Camila De Ilhéus