A COLLECTION of new works by Portuguese artist Fernanda Fragateiro is on show at Shoreditch’s Esat Central Gallery in her first UK solo show.

In Looking At Seeing And (Not) Reading, Fragateiro’s work investigates the relationship between space and object, through architectural structures and architectural interventions.

The exhibition continues her on-going research, featuring a collection of new and site-specific works, her response to the gallery’s different spaces.

Books have an elemental significance for Fragateiro, who uses them not only for their physical volume, but also as symbolic containers of ideas and knowledge.

The books included in the show carry added meaning to the artist as many of them originate from collections or libraries, some of which were previously owned by close friends.

In her choice of name for the exhibition, Looking at Seeing and (Not) Reading, Fragateiro marries two different existing titles and refers to a title of another show.

(Not) Reading is the first portion of the title given to many of Fragateiro’s recent book pieces, while the second half is taken from John Berger’s 1972 critical publication Ways of Seeing.

The book was one of the first art books she ever possessed and also used her own copy to create (Not) Reading Ways of Seeing, an eight-piece wall installation included in the show.

Looking At Seeing and (Not) Reading is at the East Central Gallery in Bateman’s Row until November 5. Opening hours are Wednesday to Friday 10am-6pm and 11am-5pm on Saturdays.