Scratching the Surface Lisbon

With this profile portrait of an anonymous young woman, the artist returns to the essence of his work, that of direct intervention in the street. Using a brick wall that he paints and hollows out, like the wall of a building from which the work could be taken directly. Vhils works with the material, placing it at the heart of his work. Its dimensions reinforce the impression of murality. Nevertheless, the work is not lacking in expressivity, and the woman's gaze conveys a sense of disquiet to the viewer - or is it fear? The artist doesn't impose a precise understanding of her work on the viewer; in fact, the close-up image of the face invites interpretation. The interplay of textures lends a vibrant realism. By scratching the surface, the light emanating from the white part humanizes the young woman, on whom the contrast between her rounded cheekbone and the hollow of her nose is revealed, like a hilly landscape. Here, Vhils focuses on the relationship between cities and the people who create them, "but which are an artificial environment where very little room seems to be left for human beings".