While most street artists rely on spray paint, markers, stencils and paper and paste to create their graffiti art, Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto (aka Vhils) uses explosives to create his murals. By setting his incendiary devices in specific places on a wall, Vhils is able to blow away portions of the wall to leave behind a relief design in the wall’s surface.
Vhils believes that destruction is inherent in the creative process. Even drawing on a piece of paper means that you need to destroy the blank page in order to create the drawing. He also uses drills to create his relief art works, carving directly into a wall to create permanent graffiti. Most of his street art focuses on emotive portraits of people, who will now stare out over passers-by for many years to come, thanks to the fact that they are a part of the wall, not simply painted or pasted onto the wall.
Check out more videos and pictures of Vhils’ art on his website. He also has some interesting 3D sculptural installations which are bound to inspire artists from all walks of life.
