We have been intrugued by Isa Toledo’s world for a long time and loved visiting her in Lisbon, where she lives since 2016. Thank you for letting us in.
In this room, there are six kinds of brushes; a hand-held radio that’s been out of battery for five years; four tin sconces that need rewiring; three poodle figurines; two giant mirrors; and my only valid passport is somewhere in this room. There’s a box of sewing boxes, and the boxes in the box are chock-full of ribbons, string, elastics, and pins. The ribbons are on the wall, too, and the pins are actually everywhere. There are gifts from Mariana, from Ana, from Nana; post-its from Lulu; Raffy’s paw print is over there. There’s a calendar from last year, another that’s been stuck on May since May, and another with no dates at all. Then there’s the other room, which is the kitchen. A kitchen is not really a room, per se. Everything from the room could be in the kitchen, but not everything in the kitchen could be in the room. What would a fork be doing in the room? A dozen eggs? For every thing that stays the same in the kitchen, something else gets renewed, so it’s no wonder the calendar here gets used.
Photos by Shawna Ferreira