Saint Anthony (1195 – 1232) is a highly regarded saint around the world, especially in Portugal, Italy, the United States of America and Macao.

He was a Holy thaumaturge, matchmaker and lawyer.

His sermons were remarkable and prodigious, but once, when the unbelieving men did not want to listen to him, he addressed a sermon to the fishes. They put their heads outside to listen to the saint, and the river was filled with the heads of all kinds of fishes to listen carefully. This phenomenon became known as the “Sermon to the Fishes of Saint Anthony”.

These phenomena have many followers and believers and are called miracles. However, nowadays there are no miracles. Why? And when there are, they are limited to communities and places.

The use of media is tremendous. This miracle is studied in Macao and there is a beautiful illustration on the side altar dedicated to this saint precisely in the St. Anthony’s Church of Macao. His devotion is still great in Macao today and every year there is a procession where his statue travels along the Camões Square.

Not far from this place, there is also the tradition of a miracle performed by Nazha, the mischievous boy, a deity equally revered in Macao.

He appeared to a Portuguese or Macanese woman, near Mount Fortress, in the 17th century, showing off his beautiful acrobatics, doing many somersaults in the air without any physical support. There has been a small temple or public altar at this location ever since.

The relationship between miracles and contemporary life has faded. Today, there are only economic miracles, and also the “Matrix” and other forms of cybernetic angels, miracle workers, as well as good, metallic and digital demons. Saints become scarce as times change. Why?

Nobody knows. Neither do I. There are no miracle statistics. It is this dichotomy that I will explore through a painting-installation.
 

Carlos Marreiros

Carlos Alberto dos Santos Marreiros is an award-winning architect, urban planner, designer and artist with his cutting-edge creations widely recognized and internationally published. Born in Macao, he studied in Macao, Portugal, Germany and Sweden, before returning to Macao in 1983. He is regularly invited to exhibit and lecture at galleries and universities in Europe, America and Asia. He is also a university professor and community leader, serving in many non-governmental organizations and governmental committees.

Marreiros has been awarded with the “Medal for Cultural Merit” by the Governor of Macao (1987) and the “Medal of Value” (Medalha de Valor), the highest distinction in the Territory, by the Governor of Macao (1999). He was decorated by the President of the Portuguese Republic with the title of “Great Officer of the Order of Prince Henry” (1999), and awarded the “Medal of Professional Merit” by the Chief Executive of Macao SAR (2002). He was also awarded the “2019 Identity Awards” by the International Institute of Macau.

Carlos Marreiros is the founder and chairman of MAA Marreiros Architectural Atelier Ltd, Sociedade de Artes Bambú, Limitada, and Albergue SCM – ALBcreativeLAB.

As an artist, he has participated in more than 32 solo shows and over 85 group exhibitions around the world. He has also created illustrations for more than 20 authors and over 100 books and magazines published in Chinese, Portuguese and English.