ABOUT

Alexandre Farto, also known as Vhils, was born in 1987 in Portugal. He grew up on the outskirts of Lisbon. He discovers the art of graffiti at 13 and used it as a way to express himself.

Being part of the Street Art movement, his preferred medium is, unsurprisingly, the wall. He has been inspired by many artists, such as Gordon Matta-Clark, Katherina Grosse, JR, Conor Harrington, Word 2 Mother, NeckFace, Faile, Blu, Gaia, Barry McGee, and Os Gêmeos.

Yet, in contrary to his peers who would add successive layers of paint and/or paper to the walls to create their artworks, Vhils chooses to “remove to reveal”. For example, in his work “Scratching the Surface”, Vhils sculpts portraits of anonymous people on parts of walls in the city and makes abandoned or neglected walls valuable again. Vhils also gained international fame when his carved portrait was revealed alongside street artist Banksy’s at the Cans Festival in London in 2008. A picture capturing their works side by side even made the headlines of The Times.

His technique is unique and thoughtful: before starting a sculpture, he would sketch the portrait with paint; then, it’s with a chisel, a jackhammer, and other tools, he would scratch the wall’s surface and reveal its successive layers. At the first glance, this approach may brutal and violent, yet according to the artist, the process adds a sense of poetry and expressivity to the wall. Little by little, a portrait would take shape.
But his work doesn’t end there with walls. The artist explores and experiments with other techniques and mediums like acid, explosives, screen-printing, and portraits carved on polystyrene; he even once created a collage with advertising posters picked up from the street. All of his artworks share a common point: they are the perfect representation of the tie and mutual influence between the street and people.