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| Vhils copyright
Portugese
artist Alexandre Farto(1987) grew up in an industrialised suburb, affected by the 1974 Carnation
revolution. The destruction of the war influenced his
work and way of thinking.
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Vhils
has been active in urban interventions since 2000. First trains around Europe
were bombed, then stencils and pastes appeared.
In
2008 his carving pieces of the Scratching the Surface
series were shown at the Cans Festival in London, on
invitation by Banksy.
The
artist uses an innovative cutting technique to remove multiple layers of a wall or billboard posters to form a poetic artwork. The action
of the method
is the message: destruction
and decay are
used to create
unpredictable artwork as he never knows what the underlying images will turn
out to be. The
history of urban space, revealed by the destruction
of walls with explosives and drills , shows the textural
contrast with contemporary public space.
Projected
or painted photographs of
unknown individuals are
used as humanizing
icons to criticize advertising
ideals and the distressing urban environment. The carved layers symbolize the socio cultural
influences and our individual struggle in society.
Vhils'
work has been shown at the Sao Paulo Biennial,
the Lazarides Gallery in London and Magda
Danysz Gallery in Paris.
He expresses himself with a variety of media: from stencil painting to wall carving, from
collage to screen printing, from works
on metal( the erode, apathy and ferrugem
series), cork, styrofoam or wooden doors to video installations.
Still
Vhils' fascination with dissection
remains primordial.
