Vhils’ groundbreaking carving technique – which forms the basis of the Scratching the Surface Project and was first presented to the public at the VSP group exhibition in Lisbon in 2007 and at the Cans Festival in London the following year – has been hailed as one of the most compelling approaches to art created in the public space in the last decades.
This striking form of visual poetry, showcased around the world in a variety of contexts, has been described as brutal and complex, yet imbued with a simplicity that speaks to the core of human emotions. An ongoing reflection on identity, on life in contemporary urban societies and their saturated environments, it explores themes such as the struggle between the aspirations of the individual and the demands of everyday life, or the erosion of cultural uniqueness in the face of the dominant model of globalized development and the increasingly uniform reality it has been imposing around the world. It speaks of effacement but also of resistance, of destruction yet also of beauty in this overwhelming setting, exploring the connections and contrasts, similarities and differences between global and local realities.
Vhils grew up in Seixal, an industrialized suburb across the river from Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, and was deeply influenced by the transformations brought on by the intensive urban development the country underwent in the 1980s and 1990s. He was particularly inspired by the way city walls seem to absorb the social and historical changes that take place around them. By digging into the surface layers of our material culture, Vhils lays bare the neglected or forgotten memories they contain trapped within.
Employing unconventional tools and techniques, his innovative approach and unique visual language have been materialized across a vast range of media – from his signature bas-relief wall carving technique to metal etching, wood engraving, pyrotechnic explosions, video and digital art, installation or sculptural objects – and contexts – including exhibitions, art festivals, community projects, and commissioned productions.
Vhils’ practice has been the subject of numerous solo and group exhibitions, including at well-reputed art institutions such as MAAT – Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (Lisbon), Contemporary Arts Center (Cincinnati), Le Centquatre-Paris (Paris), CAFA Art Museum (Beijing), Hong Kong Contemporary Art Foundation (Hong Kong), Palais de Tokyo (Paris), Barbican Centre (London), and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (San Diego), among others.
[Text by Miguel Moore]
(vhils.com/en/about)
