Sometimes to travel far, the only thing needed is a gesture. As in this case, in which the only thing to do is to open this small gem and stroll through the pages. Inside, immense planes, empty and white, await us, where the bears roam…
In this far away place, there lives a little Eskimo girl who is going to let us see the world, through her eyes. And what will be our surprise when we discover that the Eskimos are capable of distinguishing a thousand different whites, so different from each other, as yellow is from blue. White water drop, white snowflake, white cloud…
In a simple way, the Portuguese author Isabel Minhós brings us closer to the Eskimos with this album. Presented in its everyday facet: inside the igloos, roaming the frozen landscapes or navigating in a kayak. But we not only discover a great unknown, as usually happens with all minorities, but we shall also feel the cold and the wind, the snowflakes that stick to our faces… thanks to the magic of her words.
It is obvious that this album not only shrouds us in the words, the images also caress us. Madalena Matoso, in this her second collaboration with OQO, portrays the people that inhabit such distinct latitudes, through innocent eyes. In the compositions, collage is used, assembling newspaper cuttings, paper and distinct materials, surprisingly as it may seem, transform into icebergs, storms, a girl…
It is difficult not to feel identified with these Eskimos. Everything about them arouses our affection (their bright and lively-coloured clothing) or tenderness on discovering the way in which they relate to nature. And to provoke these feelings, the scenes by the Portuguese illustrator contribute a great deal: the ice that begins to crack under the feet, the clouds, so high, so cold; the snowflakes that float down like feathers…