Felippe Moraes
Solfejo (Solfège), 2014
Fine art photographic print on paper
39.5 × 59 cm (each)
Ed. 5 + 2AP

The photographic series Solfejo (2014), by Felippe Moraes, investigates the relationship between music, body, and systems of knowledge. The work draws on the method created by the Italian monk Guido D’Arezzo in the 10th century for teaching the musical scale, known as the Guidonian hand.

In this medieval pedagogical system, different parts of the hand correspond to the notes of the scale, from C to B. The gesture worked as a mnemonic tool that allowed musicians to memorize musical intervals, conduct choirs without interrupting the singing, and practice solfège exercises.

In the photographs, the artist revisits this historical device of musical notation, transforming it into image. The hand, which originally served as a map for music, also becomes a symbolic surface where knowledge, body, and language meet.

The work reveals how systems created to organize sound can cross centuries and take on new forms within contemporary art. By shifting the medieval method into photography, Felippe Moraes brings together the history of music, bodily gesture, and visual investigation.

Selected Exhibitions

• 2025 – Solfejo – CAIXA Cultural Curitiba (Paraná, Brazil)
• 2025 – Solfejo – CAIXA Cultural Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
• 2024 – Solfejo – CAIXA Cultural Brasília (Distrito Federal, Brazil)
• 2019 – Solfejo – Centro Cultural FIESP (São Paulo, Brazil)
• 2014 – Ordem – Baró Galeria (São Paulo, Brazil)