Predominate (Artist's proof)

"Two exclusive new editions that celebrate one of my favourite public artworks in Lisbon that was recently demolished. The original wall piece was carved in June 2014 as part of my “Dissection” solo show at the EDP Foundation. Nothings lasts forever."

Alexandre Farto aka Vhils

Worked onto the side wall of a derelict factory building in the district of Alcântara, Lisbon, the mural behind this edition was carved in June 2014 as part of Vhils' “Dissection” solo exhibition presented at the EDP Foundation – Electricity Museum between July and October of the same year – his first solo exhibition in a museological institution. The act of extending a solo show to the very city that provides not only inspiration but also the subject matter and the materials used in it is a recurrent practice in the artist's work. Like all of his bas-relief wall carvings it is also part of the ongoing Scratching the Surface project, in the scope of which, to date, Vhils has created over 220 pieces in more than 110 locations around the world. 

This particular mural sought to reflect on the relationship between Lisbon and its inhabitants. The large-scale portrait depicted an anonymous figure that was based on a series of photographs taken by the artist and reworked to symbolically stand as one of the many everyday heroes who help make the city what it is, a figure everyone could relate to. The piece at also sought to reflect on how Lisbon's inhabitants are influenced by the visual and cultural discourse present in its public space, represented here by the various graphic and geometric patterns that surround the portrait sourced from the city's azulejo-clad façades and hydraulic tile floors, among others.

The building was demolished in October 2018 to give way to a new development. Playing with the poetics of decay, destruction, and transformation, while highlighting the ephemeral nature of all things, concepts that are transversal to Vhils' practice, the print edition “Predominate” reproduces a photograph of the piece taken shortly after it was completed, in 2014, while the laser-engraved edition “Prevail”, reproduces the originally carved image on real fragments of the building taken from the site after it was pulled down.