I am a visual artist born in Portugal and my work develops from exploration of Nature, from observation of growth cycles and the passage of time on organic forms, as a way of understanding the self and the world. Thus, issues related with solastalgy and sustainability are prominent in my work, as well as a constant call for reconnection between human beings and the natural world.
I explore the life of dynamic materials as light, water, fire and smoke combining image/video, sound and organic materials as catalysts for immersiveness, using the materials has tools to awaken sensations and create pieces which interact directly with the body and perception of the observer, transforming him into an embodied spectator, a visitor who inhabits the piece. I strive to build immersive experiences which can have a hypnotic effect or, ultimately, come close to a moment of introspection or meditation.
The sublime appears associated with nature when we are overwhelmed by the wonder and terror of its immensity. This sensation usually represents the experience of our physical finitude and impotence facing the fury of forces of nature, but in these paradoxical times, nature appears decimated by the omnipresence of humanity and “humans themselves become a geological force” (Guinard-Terri M., 2016: p.184).
Transmutations II stems from research on water dynamics due to its undeniable importance to all life forms and also due to waters direct relation with environmental concerns such as climate change and the melting glaciers.These works visually explore a perceptual illusion created by light and the aesthetic power waters transmutation in to different physical stages, such as sublimation and evaporation.
In Transmutations II it’s presented an ice sphere evaporating and melting thanks to a strong heat source creating an optical illusion of flaming ice. This being a physically impossible image it becomes visually captivating causing a certain sense of hypnosis and wonder, despite in facing a destructive force that consumes and devours this platonic shape.
This spherical shape relates to the ethereal, the mind and the organic and fluid, being consumed by a force humanity has unleashed upon itself and the entire planet.