Vhils
Alexandre Manuel Dias Farto, artistically known as Vhils, is a Portuguese artist who stands out in urban art through his innovative technique of "creative destruction." Influenced by expressionism and street art, Vhils uses drills, hammers, chisels, and explosives to sculpt portraits on urban walls, creating a contrast between decay and humanity. His most iconic works, "Scratching the Surface" and "Dissecção and Fragmentos," explore how modernization affects personal and collective identity.
The term "creative destruction" was popularized by the famous Austrian-American economist Joseph Alois Schumpeter (1883-1950). It basically refers to the idea that innovation in industrial production allows for the emergence of new products that end up displacing the old ones. It is the "how" the wagon trade was replaced by the invention of the steam locomotive. In this hypothetical model of how the market works, there are two divergent schools of thought: one argues that the old "must" be destroyed for the new to be born, while the other considers that the new is a natural consequence of the old, occurring gradually and organically. The first school of thought would later find its place in the foundations of dialectical communism, as well as in its ideological opposite, the famous Austrian School of Economics. Perhaps this explains the speed and determination with which both communists and capitalists came to see the old as something despicable, dispensable, and necessarily discardable.
In art in general, the second option will be the most embraced. A great example of this is the impressive work of Alexandre (Vhils), whose works have been exhibited in the world's most important art venues, and his collaborations with artists like the American Shepard Fairey have impressed even the most demanding critics, endowing two-dimensional painting with three-dimensionality, or a soul, if you will.
His style breaks with traditional urban art, integrating elements of collage and sculpture. In addition to his individual work, Vhils has done significant projects with brands like Hennessy, Universal Pictures, and the Coachella Music Festival, where his experimental approach created new intersections between art and popular culture. The Portuguese artist has shared artistic affinities with contemporaries like Banksy, JR, and Blu, artists who also use public space to question political themes and social issues.
Vhils' technique aims at the elimination of layers that can reveal deep truths, emphasizing the intersection of urban memory and decay as an innovative force. His work seeks to speak about the passage of time, the power of memory, human vulnerability, and the precariousness of life in a context of constant transformation.
