Bàrbara Moura

Episode 11Bàrbara Moura
Series

Fractured self

Imagine yourself as a mosaic - each shard a memory, each fragment a story. Identity is fragmented, nonlinear, imperfect. Through collage, artists reassemble past and present into visual diaries, embracing the messiness of memory to reveal a self that is ever-evolving, resilient, and beautifully incomplete.

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Episode 11 of 14

Bàrbara Moura

In her deeply introspective practice, Barbara Moura redefines self-portraiture as a form of quiet resistance, an act of emotional honesty in an increasingly fragmented world. Her works, shaped by the solitude of global lockdowns, offer dreamlike windows into internal landscapes where identity, memory, and vulnerability converge. This editorial episode explores Moura’s singular ability to transform personal reckoning into universal reflection, inviting us to pause, sit with ambiguity, and rediscover the power of looking inward.

 

Explore Barbara Moura's artistic practice and her unique approach to self-portraiture. Her work explores intimate, internal worlds, focusing on emotions, identity, and profound solitude, often against dreamlike backdrops. Moura's art, particularly influenced by global lockdowns, conveys raw emotional honesty, acting as a form of resistance that transforms personal experiences into universal reflections on the human condition.

Episode

Explore the artist's work, stories, and experiences tied to this episode's theme.

“Self-portraits give women a space to exist - fully, unapologetically themselves.”

- Barbara Moura

Self- Portrait I
Studio
Barbara MouraStudio, 2023
150 x 140cm
00:00

Troubled Times, 2024

In Troubled Times (2024), Barbara Moura offers a portrait that speaks equally of presence and absence. A seated figure in a sinuous, patterned outfit gazes outward, drawing us into a moment of deep introspection. Her stillness feels intentional—her expression, both heavy and resolute, suggests a reckoning in progress. Beside her, an incomplete painting of a dismembered hand echoes the emotional fragmentation that lingers just beneath the surface: reaching, grasping, but never quite whole.

 

The composition is rich in symbolism. A paint palette, brushes, and jar of water are carefully placed, underscoring the act of making as both confrontation and catharsis. Yet the hand on the canvas feels detached—hinting at a rupture between self-expression and self-understanding. Is the figure struggling to articulate her interior world, or rebuilding herself, stroke by stroke? In this tension, we recognize our own quiet reckonings.

 

Moura’s interest in solitude and inwardness comes into vivid focus here. Her exploration of identity—especially as it relates to isolation and internal gaze—gains depth from her experience living in Vienna during the isolating pandemic years. Troubled Times extends that reflection: a meditation on sitting with oneself, on facing the fractured parts of being that resist easy resolution.

 

The work also gestures toward a broader theme—memory as a shifting, contested space. The figure seems both witness and participant in her own story, suspended between making and remembering. Her steady gaze and the muted background remind us: memory eludes clarity, much like the swirling patterns of her garment.

 

Moura invites us to dwell in ambiguity. This isn’t just a portrait of an artist—it’s a portrait of all of us, grappling with fragmentation and seeking solace in the act of becoming.

Troubled Times

“It Is a way for me to truly get in touch and deal with my feelings. This is why self-portrait is so important in my work. My paintings always confine my thoughts and feelings in the matters I paint. They are intrinsically connected with who I am as a person.”

 

- Barbara Moura

Hope is a Dangerous Thing..., 2023

In this evocative piece, Barbara Moura offers a portrait rooted in introspection and quiet defiance. The figure, caught between rest and resistance, meets our gaze with a quiet challenge—what does it mean to hope amid uncertainty?

 

Surrounding objects hint at longing and self-reflection, echoing Moura’s ongoing exploration of solitude and memory. A companion to Troubled Times, this work suggests that in stillness, simply existing becomes an act of resistance against the weight of the past.

At the Mirror, 2024

With At the Mirror, Moura delves into the complexities of self-perception and duality. A figure gazes at a pair of reflected nudes, their striped stockings lending a surreal elegance. Meanwhile, the artist herself—or perhaps a voyeuristic observer—stands to the side, her bold, patterned clothing forming a sharp contrast against the nudity in the mirror. This interplay between vulnerability and boldness, reflection and detachment, underscores Moura’s fascination with fragmented identity and the narratives we construct about ourselves. The piece expands on the dialogue from Troubled Times, deepening the exploration of how memory, body, and identity are constantly at odds, forever shifting between what is seen and what remains hidden.

At The Mirror

"It’s incredibly important for women artists to take space and to be unapologetically themselves."

- Barbara Moura

Wild Ride

Exhibition: 'After All That Happened Darkness Did Not Win', 2023

Barbara Moura's Solo Show at Septieme Gallery, Paris.

Forever Juggling, 2023

In Forever Juggling, Barbara Moura presents a surreal self-portrait, her figure cloaked in smaller nude bodies scattered across a vibrant dress. The work playfully captures the emotional and physical balancing act of womanhood, blending vulnerability, humor, and strength. Like Troubled Times, it turns inward, reflecting on identity’s constant flux and challenging the pressure to appear composed or singular. Moura’s vivid imagery reminds us that the self is always shifting—forever juggling, adapting, and becoming.

Forever Juggling
The Inclination
Featured Artist

Meet the artist featured in this episode—explore their profile & artworks.

Barbara Moura
Artist
Barbara Moura
B.1989, Portuguese

Barbara Moura is an artist originally from Lisbon, Portugal. She graduated from the National Film School of Portugal and moved to London where she did her MA Applied Imagination in The Creative Industries at Central Saint Martins. She currently lives in Vienna. Her work alternates between oil painting and digital drawing and usually deals with themes such as feminism, sexuality, political criticism or emotional struggles, often personalized through self-portraits. ...

More Works By: Barbara Moura

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Series: Fractured selfEpisode 12
Karen Birkin

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