Street Art: Alexandre Farto aka Vhils in Aveiro

Vhils has been developing a very unique visual language, starting out from the more illegal and interventive side of graffiti, working the removal of surface layers of walls, objects and other, non-conventional media, which aim symbolically to establish a relation of continuity between cultural and social disparities.

Vhils (Alexandre Farto, 1987) has been developing a very unique visual language, starting out from the more illegal and interventive side of graffiti, working the removal of surface layers of walls, objects and other, non-conventional media, which aim symbolically to establish a relation of continuity between cultural and social disparities.
He has exhibited in galleries and participated in events in a wide range of countries, and has taken part in some of the most renowned contemporary urban art projects.

VHILS’s artwork is a revolution in the stencil technique in its use of unusual tools. Through the destruction of walls, he explores the layers of urban space and its history. Old papers, worn out posters, wood panels, brick walls are attacked with chisels, jackhammer, acid, or explosives, in order to sculpt his stencil on the wall. VHILS’s portraits underline an important contrast between new and ancient; he makes visible the inside face of these buildings. VHILS tries to give a new face to the city which is, for him, a ground of popular inspirations.

“Scratching the Surface”, is one of his projects. Using construction tools, he exposes and confronts the architectural surfaces as they narrate the story of the graphic and of the city itself. Etching acid and bleach, he begins to depict the canvas to be de-constructed. Then with the use of hammers, chisels and pneumatic drills, he sculpts the stenciled pieces to create texture, dimension and layers.

It was what happens at Aveiro: a dazzling face carved into a wall appeared in front of Aveiro’s Railway Station.

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