Águas de Pedra: A cultura visual hídrica na indústria dos mármores do Alentejo (Portugal)

Abstract

Water is a fundamental element in the Portuguese marble industry in the Alentejo (Vila Viçosa, Estremoz and Borba), where it plays an auxiliary role in a stone’s extraction and transformation. With the modernization of this activity a little over a century ago, the demand for water has grown enormously, shaping the surrounding landscape to some extent, with its countless deep quarries with artificial lakes made up of fresh underground water and wastewater from rainfall and mechanical work. In this sense, we seek to show the visual culture surrounding this economic activity, focusing on the uses of water in an industrial environment, highlighting the meanings, values and current uses of these reserves, using a range of different visual sources. We also take the opportunity to show not only the evolution of the industrial territory, but also its problems.