I?was?born?on?the?25th?June?1974,?in?Lisbon,?where?I?normally?live?and?work.?? For?a?long?time?now,?I’ve?been?allying?my?work?as?a?painter?to?the?endless? research?for?and?adaptation?to?new?materials,?tools?and?physical?media?that? better?convey?my?artistic?vision.?The?main?goal?is?to?learn,?through? experimenting,?about?new?ways?of?painting?and?of?understanding?colour?and? matter?itself.?? Mobility?has?guided?my?artistic?path.?The?concept?of?moving?my?workspace?and? thus?getting?to?find?and?work?with?different?materials?and?people,?is?the?guiding? line?of?my?work.?Last?year?I?stayed?in?Nellikuppam,?in?Tamil?Nadu,?South?India.?As? I?see?it,?in?a?way?my?work?there?was?a?turning?point?as?far?as?I?understand?the? concept?of?artistic?settlement.?The?project?was?called?“Utopia?x?Matter”,?and? focused?on?the?duality?of?explosive?physical?material?manifestations?and?the?deep? sense?of?spirituality?felt?all?around?in?every?little?thing.?All?pieces?resulting?from? this?project?were?conceived?exclusively?with?local?materials,?like?religious? pigments,?handmade?paint,?artisan?paper,?etc.?I?believe?this?apparent?difficulty?to? work?with?materials?that?are?strange?to?my?background?is?absorbed?in?such?a? way?that?enables?an?important?process?of?constant?learning?and?improving?for? me,?as?I?adapt?to?my?individual?artistic?context?whole?new?ways?of?working?and? achieving?my?purposes?aesthetically.? ? I?don’t?focus?on?the?initial?moment?set?by?a?blank?canvas,?nor?do?I?sacralize?the? finished?painting?-?the?process?through?which?each?work?is?produced,?that?is?my? main?concern,?the?way?I?can?employ?on?my?work?some?sort?of?ethnographic? artisanal?method?of?manipulating?different?techniques.?Production?is,?in?itself,?the? great?galvanizing?force?behind?my?work.?All?of?it?has?been,?in?one?way?or?another,? subjected?to?various?artisan-like,?quasi-ethnographic?processes?and?techniques?–? all?of?them?diversified,?free?and?open?to?results.? ?? I?can?say?that?I?have?been?trying,?on?every?artistic?residence?I’ve?been?to,?to? explore?as?deeply?as?I?can?a?multicultural?angle?of?art,?working?in?close? partnership?with?the?local?artists?and?using?only?local?materials?both?in?painting? and?drawing,?in?permanent?dialogue?with?the?local?communities.? Furthermore,?it?is?most?important?for?me?to?keep?an?open?channel?for? communication?and?exchange,?one?that?will?show?constantly?different? dimensions?of?my?work?and,?obviously,?of?my?path?as?a?visual?artist.?? ?
