The Art of Circularity
April 22, 2025
‘The Art of Circularity’ addresses a need to minimise waste, increase the lifespan of materials and help to regenerate nature. It champions processes such as re-use, refurbishment, up-cycling and composting. This concept is central to the artistic practice of friend and fellow creative, Barbara Portailler, whose work promotes contemplation of a world where products and materials are kept in use for as long as possible, reducing environmental impact and promoting sustainability.
Barbara, you are a creative force and constant source of inspiration. Your ‘circular art’ is always thought-provoking and socially-minded. It addresses many important themes of today such as sustainability, the collaborative economy and importance of community – expressed through your imaginative lens. Using a multitude of mediums including folded book pages, ceramics, memos on thousands of used post-it notes (Squared Thoughts) and cyanotypes on reclaimed materials – your work often takes place within the public domain, with audience participation and invites critique of the world through innovative and engaging ways.
When we first met many moons ago, you were pursuing a degree in Economics. Since then, you’ve gained qualifications in international law, (working for a decade in human rights and renewable energy) and are now an established artist, photographer and lecturer. Oh, and you’ve just been awarded a PhD from the Sorbonne School of Arts where you coined the term ‘circular art’. I am in awe.
I’m interested to know, what was the main catalyst that inspired you take the leap from lawyer to artist? How did that all happen?
I witnessed a major change in environmental law, that I realised was not designed for a better environment at all. That was the trigger for me to leave the law profession. I had seen so many bargaining games at play between stakeholders and was frustrated at the negative impact this had on legislation. I quit my job and joined a research team in the Art & Society Department of the Sorbonne University, Paris. Since then I have dedicated my time to my art and art-related researches at University. I realised that trying to effect change through art couldn’t be any slower than trying to do it through law!
What are your hopes and aspirations for the art you put out into the world?
Joy! My art is a political statement. It’s a daily expression of activism that invites a slower consideration of the environment and world around us. It encourages a friendly, yet critical contemplation of our relationship with the ecosystem in which we live, the materials we use and the community around us. Art, for me, is a common good. It is an act of resistance. Art brings together doing and feeling, thought and action. It is a way of connecting and resisting the anonymous commodification of the world.
Which has been the most challenging of your projects to date?
My PhD for sure and by far. It was a long and complex journey. I had to explore not only my individual practice, but also what we can learn from it collectively – on both creative and societal levels. It was intense!
And which have you most enjoyed?
‘Ce qu’il reste de Dimanches’ focusing on my friend the river Seine, commissioned by Grand Paris. I loved photographing it over the course of a year. One analogue film per month – no more, no less – captured on the walk from home to my studio. I got so much pleasure from every click and had confidence in between that the images would come out well. I felt a lot of happiness discovering the many differences that existed in that same tiny area of the landscape – the colours, the interactions between the foliage and water depending on the seasons and water levels etc. And an office chair, abandoned on the river bank, in or out of the water depending on the tides, but standing still… and abandoned. The dead end of office work. And more maybe?
What have been the key learnings you’ve taken away from working on ‘circular art’ over the past decade?
To trust the process. Not the intellectual process you designed beforehand, but the process that is intertwined with the cycle of the materials we use and the seasons that shape our days and other people’s lives. To not be afraid of taking the time required to follow those cycles of life and materials.
In 2014 you made a badge with ‘No Ready Made Life’ on it. This was in resistance to the increasing commercialisation, commodification and privatising of everyday life. For example, socialising (Facebook), dating (Tinder), reading (Amazon). It suggests that life isn’t just something that can be bought. It speaks to alternative behavioural models including a more collaborative, social and circular economy. How do you think this concept is relevant today?
No Ready Made Life is a very open motto. It has many layers and interpretations. That’s a key element for me. It causes us to reflect and question our daily lives on many levels – as human beings or as a society. Are we just taking, or are we contributing? There is no ready made way. It takes hard work and collaboration. It’s a way to encourage alternative ways of thinking – to push away attachment to the materiality of wanting ‘that job, that watch, that house’ etc. In these challenging political times, I believe that if we take time to observe the world and are open to friendly and critical thinking, we will see a way through the pros, the cons and the great-pretenders.
Continuing this theme, studies show that what brings us happiness and contentment in life are things like community, a sense of belonging, clean air, access to outdoor space etc. Your latest photography project seeks to capture your local Lisboa community. Can you tell me more about this?
Moving to Lisbon from France, I embraced and built a new community. I’ve mastered the art of ‘just doing’ it! I don’t sit around waiting for people to create what I need, I make it myself. I don’t have the energy to get through my days solo. I work better when I’m around others – to care, to receive and to give. So I set up a community darkroom and gallery space (Tab Lab) and figured out that making group portraits was a way to show this invisible energy that drives my life and my work. For that reason, the Friday Foto Fever project focuses solely on group portraits. Two or more people. This shifts the viewer’s perspective – from making a superficial judgement as to whether or not they like the person pictured, to a more open approach that’s curious about what’s going on between the of people as a collective. The framing of the image is essential. I avoid very close-up shots where it’s just the face (so as to escape that judgement-paradigm) and full-frame, head-to-toe shots (so as to escape the fashion-paradigm). Voilà
What motivated you to open your analogue lab in Lisbon?
My ambition with the Tab Lab was to (as we say in French) add my dish to the table! To do my share and play an active part in this community.
What’s next for Barbara Portailler?
Oh là là! I am currently working on a photo project about the big bang that it is to be a mum. Documenting my two daughters for a book edition. Alongside this, I am preparing for Lisbon by Design in May. I also have an art residency about the circulation of cocoa in São Tomé and Príncipe (Africa) this summer and a show at the MUNCAB Museum in Salvador de Bahia (Brasil) next autumn.
Find out more about Barbara’s work
Instagram
Website
Tab Lab
Lisbon by Design feature
View images from my visit
An introduction to circular economies