tinho

TINHO

São Paulo, SP - 1973

Lives and works in São Paulo, SP

Tinho began his career in the 80’s integrating a generation of artists with consciousness to take on urban art production as a poetic strategy of recognition, not only of their own city but as their language, powerful and comparable to the traditional ones of art history. His production, representing major importance to the contemporary Brazilian scene, proves itself, along with other talents of the time, a pioneer.

The artist, like many of his generation, start with graffiti, using the city as its host. Later on he moves to painting, the foundation of his academic education, with more emphasis, followed by photography and installations that feature as protagonists the characters that accompany him since the beginning. His work is contextualised by one's place in an urban area. It is permeated with the constant acidic and citric atmosphere of characters that hide, under their neutral aesthetic, persistent loneliness.

obras

works

YOU ARE WHAT YOU WEAR!

In this series the focus is on personal identification and how each individual chooses to be represented through their clothing. The paintings invite the observer to reflect on the freedom of choice and authenticity in the way we present ourselves to the world. They remind us that our clothes are a powerful form of communication and self expression, allowing each person to identify themselves in the way that feels most comfortable and authentic. It is an invitation to celebrate diversity and respect the individual choices of each person in constructing their visual identity.

BRANDS OF POWER

The paintings from the "Brands of Power" series feature, in place of fabric patches, the big luxury brands such as Vogue, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Dior, as well as others such as Nike, EA Sports, Tiktok, Globo, BBC, Nintendo, Itau Bank, iFood, Dell, Apple, national flags, to construct their dolls.

In this series, Tinho onirically portrays his cloth dolls as protagonists, and directly and objectively inserts logos of big brands stamped on the bodies of these characters, bringing to the surface issues about social construction, identity symbols, and belonging in certain groups and forms of expression. Tinho raises some questions: what makes an individual choose certain brands? Do they have that power of distinction? How does the desire for consumption of these brands penetrate individually and collectively? How in the globalized media world are brands symbols of identification? And when certain groups, previously subordinated, start to consume these brands?

Tinho also brings up identification with the other - the "I" reflected in the other - and questions the very identity of the SELF. Far from being able to answer these questions, but rather shed light on the subject, Tinho points to a kind of "behavior replication machine," where we see individuals often adhering to brands and ways of life based on a belief, almost a "faith" in the construction of the identity of the consumption product, and furthermore, in the distinction or acceptance in certain groups. And it is this replicability that can be observed in this new garb of the dolls painted by the artist.

THE 7 SEAS

This series was the theme of an important exhibition at the Paço Imperial, Rio de Janeiro. It is made up of 7 paintings that portray an ocean of objects of the artist's poetic universe. The references include discs, films, books, famous artworks, skateboard shapes, toys and fashion. The oceans suggested by Tinho aren't only external, but also internal. They reference his livings, his image repertoires, the places where he navigated and continues to navigate. They are oceans of inspiration, his own blows. The series that, to the artist, is the realization of a dream, constitutes itself as an homage to everyone and everything that fed and continue to feed his development. It is a look at the past, an observance of what surrounds him on a daily basis. It is synthesis and the eternal reoccurrence of his repertoire. It is also his own fascination before those images. Tinho's latent oceans portray themselves here as an invitation for the spectator to walk into his world of references and understand how each object influenced his personal and professional journey.

To know the 7 Seas means to know his world.

THE UNFOLDINGS OF THE 7 SEAS

Having as a basis The 7 seas, Tinho begins a phase where he represents their unfoldings from the fusion of their references. In these compositions the disorder is something remarkable, purposeful and positive in nature. Using an interactive flow between figuration and abstraction, the artist seeks in chaos a form of reconstruction of the world, where culture, fantasy and the virtual world mix in the form of references, memories, ideas, thoughts. And he shows us that there is a way back to balance. Thus, each canvas presents itself as a visual manifestation of the saying "After the storm comes the bonanza".

Sobre procurar e esconder

Mixed media on canvas
150 x 200 cm

A game of hide and seek, a children’s game present in all cultures, regardless of religion, gender, economic class or ethnicity. A context currently imposed due to quarantine, where the family relationship predominates. What to do to pass the time? How to not lose your mind? How to forget the problems triggered by a virus you can’t see? How to keep the house clean and tidy when you have small children?
In some way we are all searching for something or someone. That is what moves us, what calms or excites us. In the same way, we also hide, because in the face of the unknown, we cannot expose ourselves. Therefore, we live in an eternal game of hide and seek.
In this work, a child, hidden in a unicorn costume, performs the countdown for the game to begin. Who is this child? Who else is playing?

In the living room, a man enters or leaves a hole, work “Untitled”, 2001 by Maurizio Catellan, his self portrait. Around him we find Piero Manzoni’s “Artist’s Shit”, “Spatial Concept - Waiting” by Lucio Fontana and Cildo Meireles’s “Who killed Herzog?”. Works of art that make reference to the concept of hide and seek: Catellan is invading or leaving the enclosure. In search for what? Or hiding from what? Is there really such “shit” in the pot? People asked at the time. A fact that was demystified after opening some of the cans to check the veracity of such content. What does a work hide? What is behind the painting or canvas? Uncomfortable with such questions, Lucio Fontana tears its surface to reveal its interior. And Cildo Meireles wonders to this day: “Who killed Herzog?”.

Behind Catellan’s sculpture, a book that became a bestseller among children, which generated millions in sales and a collection of other books with the same question: “Where’s Wally?”. Further back, “Geninho” a character from the cartoon She-Ha who challenged us to find him every episode during the course of the story. There is also the hat that featured “Jack the Ripper”, one of the most famous criminals that was never found, not even by the best police in the world so far, Scotland Yard.

Below, a Kiss record, “Creatures of the Night”. Night creatures are beings that live on the prowl, hidden and always watching us. Kiss was the first band of worldwide success to perform with all its members masked. Another record figures there, “Morrison Hotel”, or is it “Hard Rock Cafe”? An album by The Doors, whose vocalist, Jim Morrison, sang with his back to the audience, hiding his face. Below, “Dancing in th Dark” by Lars von Trier, with Bjork on the lead role. A movie in which the protagonist suffers of a degenerative eye disease that makes her slowly go blind.

Next to the film, a book. “Sherlock Holmes - A Study in Scarlet” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The first book about the famous detective. The cover reminds us of the work “This is not a pipe” by René Magritte, which denounces representation in art and makes us think about what we seek in a work of art. Tossed on the side, a white t-shirt with a print from Banksy’s iconographic work. An artist whose identity is still a mistery and whose work also materialises mysteriously. A black “Bic” pen and a red lighter also compose the work. Two objects eerily curious due to theirs disappearances.

In the lower right corner, 3 films: Denis Villeneuve’s “The Suspects” (2013), which addresses the disappearance of 2 children; “Catch me if you can” by Steven Spielberg, 2003, which has Leonardo DiCaprio running away and disguising himself throughout the plot. And finally, Martin Scorcese’s “The Departed”, 2006, also with Leonardo DiCaprio, now as a police officer. Undercover in crime, he wants to find Matt Damon, who in turn, is a criminal infiltrating the police in search of Leonardo DiCaprio. Who will find the other first?

In this game of cat and mouse, a mouse hole appears on the wall next to the child, like the ones in kid’s cartoons such as “Tom and Jerry”. Rats are everywhere. It is estimated that there are 4 rats for every human. To our misfortune, sometimes we find some. But where are they? Where are they hiding? Closer than we think...

And finally, comes the famous “sweep of dirt under the carpet”. And a question lingers in the air: what was swept under the coloured carpet?