Urban Outfitters - Meet Vhils: the artist behind the face

Your real name is Alexandre Farto but you're known as Vhils. Where did this name come from and what does it mean?
Vhils is just a name I chose for myself when I was writing graffiti. It doesn't really mean anything � it was chosen for the letters alone, as they were some of my favourite to draw alongside each other and the ones I could do the fastest. The name has stuck.

Can you tell us a little bit about what you do?
I started writing graffiti at a very early age and then gradually made a transition towards stenciling. Eventually I started exploring a whole new range of techniques and one thing led to another, and from painting walls and trains I arrived at creating large-scale pieces chiseled on to walls.
Nowadays I'm still experimenting with new directions and am pretty busy showcasing my work around the world, whenever I am fortunate enough to be invited to do so. I still do non-commissioned work in the streets whenever I can, and have been busy participating in exhibitions, collaborating in projects involving other visual artists, social projects or musicians.

What motivated you to start experimenting with unconventional materials and methods to create such unique artwork?

I can't really say it was anything objective. I've always been drawn to experimentation. Even when I started writing graffiti I knew I wanted to take things further. Things are interesting only when they give you pleasure or provide you with answers that satisfy your drive or curiosity [�] once they do, I know it's time to move on and start exploring once again.

I'm very inquisitive by nature [�] I'm constantly observing, thinking, coming up with ideas and putting them to the test. Some of them work out, most of them don't, but I always learn with the process, and to be honest that's what gives me the most pleasure - experimenting with materials and tools and techniques.

Somewhere along the way I came up with the idea of exploring this path of abrasive materials based on the idea of creating by means of destruction, which is a concept I brought over from graffiti. Once I was on it, it just impelled me. So from using household bleach to corrode screen prints, I eventually ended up using explosives to carve pictures on walls. Who knows where it will all end...

Graffiti sometimes has negative connotations, yet street art is becoming increasingly popular. What do you think the difference is between street art and graffiti? Do you think there is a difference?
They both resort to the same space to make their statements and to a certain degree share tools and techniques [�] I believe they share the same nature but with a different purpose. Graffiti is essentially communicating within a closed circle and street art is communicating with a wider audience. [�] They are both interested in reclaiming public space, and to me they are both a valid means of expression and I see no contradiction between one and the other.

You were born in Portugal but are now based in London. How has each of these places affected/inspired your work?
Growing up in Portugal had a deep impact on my work and still affects it today. The move to London and travelling around the world has also left a valuable imprint on who I am and how I look at things.

In London, I found a city that despite what it advertises to the outside world about itself, it is still an unpolished place. It doesn't really make an effort to embellish itself. It's a city more concerned with being practical and functional, whereas Lisbon is trying to fight decay by polishing its fa�ades, but never really making it functional.

Lisbon is concerned with appearances. It paints the fa�ades and lets the interiors rot. London by contrast feels more real to me. The poetic complexity of Lisbon's decay on the other hand, is much more inspiring. However, this duality between both somehow seems to complete me, as both stimulate my creativity and inspire me for different reasons.

You've created some amazing portraits using rather unconventional methods and materials. Have you ever wanted to just sit in a studio and paint onto a canvas?
My first approach to art and painting was done in the streets when I started writing graffiti, so that defined my path from the beginning. Once you've painted on walls and on a large scale, painting on a canvas feels rather small and limited by comparison. I have actually painted on canvas and I still do small scale work with posters and screen prints, but nothing really compares to working out in the open and working on larger scales.

If you weren't an artist, what would you be?
No idea.

Who or what inspires you?
This is always a tough one. I feel inspired by anything and everything, as I believe even the most insignificant episode or event can leave an imprint on you and eventually contribute towards defining who you are. I'm obviously affected by the music I listen to, the films I watch, the books I read, works by other artists I've seen and so on, but none of them are really conscious. I'm not consciously aware of being inspired by other people or media but deep down I must be, we all are to some extent.

Do you create art for arts sake or do you see your work as conveying a message of some sort?
When I'm just experimenting I'm focused on the process itself and it's all about what I'm doing at the time, so in that sense it is art for art's sake guided by trial and error. However, finished pieces do have a meaning behind them and each series does have its own message, even if it's not apparent.

The main lines behind my work have to do with randomness and the ephemeral nature of things, both of which are deeply connected with what I do and how I do it. I'm interested in incorporating these elements into my work and making them a part of the pieces themselves working along with nature and the way time changes materials and surfaces etc.

Tell us about the piece you did for Urban Outfitters in Exeter, who is the 'face of Exeter'?
For this project, the image was not based on anyone in particular. It was based on a couple of drawings I was working on when I went to Exeter. The whole idea was to provide the building with a face, to come up with a human element that faces the passing crowd - engaging the public and somewhat humanise the area in some way. This is a recurrent theme in my work; this contrast between the human dimension and the artificial environment of the urban landscapes we live in.

www.alexandrefarto.com