The Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto (Vhils) presents this week in Lisbon, for the first time, a piece made with a new technique that he has been developing in recent years, he revealed.
The piece, which this Wednesday was nothing more than a white painted wall, “is becoming known during the Iminente festival”, which takes place between Thursday and Sunday and of which Vhils is one of the founders.
“It is a layer of waterproof paint, which is applied white on white. The wall absorbs pollution and everything that the city leaves in the air, and the piece is revealed by all that, by absorbing all the pollution that exists in space”, the artist explained to Lusa, on the sidelines of a visit of press. .to the imminent festival site.
Over the four days of the festival, Vhils will “speed up this process a bit, with a fire extinguisher and a sprinkler, but the piece will continue” after creating itself, over time.
“I really like using time and the chaos of the city as a force that creates, not just destroys. And this work comes a little bit along the lines of what I had done so far,” she shared.
The new technique “took a while to develop,” about three or four years, using “the science and the study department.” “It is a process of using a material widely used in construction for insulation, which is then used to create. We have been working with lime trees and mushrooms, with what destroys and guiding you a little to build, ”he said.
This new technique was intended to create pieces on the street, “to do directly on the wall.”
“It is an invisible ink, that does not interfere with what it is and that also allows me to make works in places that are not expected, and then the piece is revealed and appears over time, or even different messages over time,” he said. . .
Vhils decided to present the work at Iminente because it was, for him, “a space for experimentation”.
After the festival, like other works presented there, the new piece by Vhils will remain in that space.
“The piece is in space. I make a small intervention from time to time, the piece will eventually continue its life, like all the pieces I do in public space. Pollution and things that build up on the walls, like moisture, are going to paint the work,” he explained.
Throughout the four days of the Iminente festival, Vhils will be present, at various times, to accelerate the process of creating the piece, and for the first day, Thursday, he prepared “a little surprise”.
The Iminente festival, which brings together music and visual arts, takes place between Thursday and Sunday in the Matinha area. The poster is made up of more than 150 artists, including musicians, performers, visual artists and dancers.
Source: Observadora
