Joana Duarte – A Picture is Worth a Thousand Lies

Window Gallery De Prachtvink, Groningen | 1–30 November 2025

From November 1 to 30, 2025, Joana Duarte, a visual artist with Portuguese roots, will exhibit an inkjet print (2025) on FineArt paper in window gallery De Prachtvink, located at shopping center Vinkhuizen, Platinalaan 505a, 9743 GZ Groningen.

The print measures 15 x 20 cm and is displayed in a 30 x 40 cm frame with passe-partout. It is number 1 in a series of five. The work is part of Duarte’s ongoing series A Picture is Worth a Thousand Lies (2021–present), which explores the tension between memory and photographic imagery.

The piece is based on a black-and-white photo of the artist as a child, taken in a family context that appeared affectionate but often concealed absence and violence. Through chemical processes, Duarte transfers childhood drawings onto the photograph — acts of both reclamation and imagination. These interventions reclaim ownership of a memory while adding new traces of lived experience. The chemical reactions also introduce unpredictability, allowing the image to evolve over time.

Joana Duarte (born 1999, Portugal) is a visual artist based in Groningen. She is pursuing a master’s degree in Painting at the Frank Mohr Institute and holds a bachelor’s degree in Painting from the University of Lisbon. Duarte has exhibited her work in Lisbon, Tokyo, and at various Portuguese biennials, and received several awards, including the Millennium BCP Young Art Prize (2023). Her work investigates memory, family archives, and the fragility of photographic material. The exhibition at De Prachtvink marks her Dutch debut.

De Prachtvink is a unique window gallery visible only from the outside, accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The space is illuminated until 11:00 p.m. and features a new artist each month.