You may have seen Vhils work exposed in the streets or simply come across it at least one through social media. He has been turning people´s faces since a young age. His portraits made from destruction have become an inspiration. The art itself is enough to leave people breathless but Vhils always has a powerful message.
How do we know Vhils?
He started at 13 as an illegal graffiti maker. This was mostly an influence due to his background of where he grew up. it all changed when at seventeen when he labeled himself as a vandal. His art wasn´t appreciated if it were the destruction of property. The word destruction had a great impact, influenced to discover that as a concept. Living in Lisbon he noticed the layers billboards has so he started carving his art by destroying them, however, reveling their history at the same time.
“I like to use destructive means to create artwork that is meaningful and poetic, mostly portraits that can humanize the often oppressive public space that we find in our cities. you can think of stenciling that creates a symbolic window that helps reveal what lies hidden beneath the surface of things. it is a work of subtraction and exposure.” – Vhils
What keeps him motivated?
He believes that the more you think the less you do. Your mind has a way to unmotivated to from achieving greatness. Although he believes if you are an impulsive person that is lead by action then you become useless. He tries to achieve a balance between the act of thinking and doing. Fascinated by the process of taking thing apart. He wants to understand how things work and how he can make them better with his art. The exploration of destroying to create has given him a voice.
A piece of advice for artists
“We live in a different time than before, there used to be a lot of artists that were creating in a time that was more difficult to have their work recognized. the internet has changed how things are circulated but I think that there are a lot more possibilities not just to evolve but also to reach different people, so to master that combined with having a message is a very powerful thing.” – Vhils
