Saudade

One of the most renowned theories about love is crystallization: the act of embellishing and idealizing the beloved through the very process of loving them. This concept is rooted in an old tale, where lovers would place fragile tree branches into a pit of salt, allowing time to encrust them with radiant crystals. These crystallized branches would then be offered as a gift to their beloved—a symbolic gesture of devotion. A delicate branch from a withered tree, ravaged by winter, falls into an abandoned pit. Two or three months later, it emerges adorned with dazzling crystals that captivate the eye. Crystallization invites us to explore and imagine the beauty of the beloved. The crystal forms, grows, and expands, embodying the infinite potential of love and imagination.
The name Saudade(Saudade in Portuguese) carries profound cultural weight, signifying a state of nostalgia, longing, melancholy, and the aching awareness of something or someone deeply cherished yet irrevocably lost. In its Persian essence, “سوداد” spans meanings such as thought, obsession, melancholy, passion, desire, and the bittersweet yearning of unattainable dreams.
Much of our body, including the cones within our eyes—the elements that channel light and shape vision—is made of crystals. These microscopic crystals guide our perception of light and form, reminding us that even our gaze is a crystallized act of seeing and understanding.
This project, Saudade, is a crystallized form born from two years of research and experimental exploration of crystals as both material and process. The inherent struggle of the crystal to achieve stability during its formation lies at the heart of this work.
The narrative of this project unfolds through a multi-layered approach: video art and visual documentation chronicle the evolving stages of crystal growth, creating an archive of the process. These records, alongside the final sculptural manifestation, form an integrated body of work that bridges the journey of experimentation and the tangible embodiment of the material. Saudade is not merely a sculpture—it is a meditation on longing, transformation, and the delicate interplay between process and permanence.