Industrial Ghosts
who guard the River
DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY
Located in Almada, the ruins of Lisnave - Estaleiros Navais de Lisboa (Lisbon´s abandoned shipyards) appear as giant ghosts who quietly guard the river, holding memories of once lost industrial greatness and historical working class struggles.
The also known as Margueira shipyard held the largest dry dock in the world, a gigantic 300-tons gantry and employed more than 10,000 workers.
Over 5200 ships were repaired during its 33 years of agitated existence, from 1967 to 2000, making it an international naval reference.
Nowadays, a lost kingdom, Lisnave has become a city within a city, where dismantled dreams and workers' life stories are slowly revealed through the carcasses of these slumberous industrial giants, ghostly reminders of a past era.
We walked through shipyard remains and abandoned buildings, in this post apocalyptic scenario, learning history through the words and knowledge of Lisnave former workers Jaime Pereira, António Fernandes and Lúcio António, whom I can’t thank enough for the courtesy of providing this visit.
