Multitude / MIMA Museum
By scratching surfaces, Alexandre Farto aka Vhils (b.1987) delves into the past and present of societies. The artist digs into their heritage, culture and narratives. The more he digs, the more human stories he brings to light. Throughout his process, which is particularly marked by carving, he eternalises moments in three elements that are crucial to his work: urban landscapes, patterns and faces. By engraving portraits, Vhils carves into the future, although his works are as ephemeral and transitory as history and life itself.
Spread across the ground, first and second floors of the MIMA, visitors can encounter wall carvings, billboards, cityscapes, videos and installations from different time periods that offer a compelling insight into the Portuguese artist’s approach to the relationship between people and cities. They are all characterised by his persistent attempt to freeze time. He constructs contemporary memories in an ongoing reflection on identity, on life in contemporary urban societies and their saturated environments.
In the digital age, our relationship with memory has changed dramatically. Today’s highly complex and chaotic means of communication and hyperconnectivity inspire Vhils’ most recent multimedia installation “Multitude”, which represents an entirely new approach to his research. The work located at the final section of the exhibition confronts us with the cacophony and exhaustion of information overload. It represents how the digital age, on the one hand, is characterised by a potentially infinite memory and, on the other hand, it triggers a lack of connectivity, fragmentation and miscommunication. A multitude of individuals who have lost control over what is remembered – and what is forgotten.
Multitude
Solo exhibition
MIMA Museum - Brussels, Belgium
28 June 2024 - 5 January 2025