Afonso de Oliveira, Lisbon, Portugal 2024

Artist Bio: Born and raised in Santos, Afonso de Oliveira, who signs his works as Afonsoul, grew up part of his childhood in a community called Santa Cruz dos Navegantes, in Guarujá. As a child he was very shy. Shyness that he carries with him to this day, but in smaller quantities. He protected himself from the world through introspection, paper and pencil. There everything was resolved. As time went by, he moved away from this world where everything was possible and entered a kind of academic limbo, passing through several areas, such as industrial automation, environmental engineering and even a faculty of Architecture which, despite not having finished, was where he could approach, study and experience the world from points of view that were in line with his vision of life. During the pandemic, the artist used social isolation to focus on studying subjects that were good for him, and in May 2020 he began applying the knowledge he had acquired at architecture school to produce digital portraits. The productions were very well received, but there was still something missing. or something? The thing was to paint on the street and experience on your skin a little of the essence of what urban art provides. In July 2020, he decided to learn how to paint and started muralism. Since then, I fell in love with it and turned my entire focus towards improving techniques with spray paint and acrylic paint, which were tools that until then I had no idea how to use. Since then, several murals and canvases have been created in several cities throughout Brazil and Europe. Painting in Portugal, Spain, France, Holland, Belgium and Germany. In addition, partnerships were made with brands such as: UNESCO, Tintas Coral, Bagus Ink, a collection of boards signed at HolyEdge Surfboards and a 60m² mural in the largest port in Latin America. The Brazilian Artist currently resides in the city of Lisbon, where he began developing a new work and has been testing all types of possibilities.

Artist Statement: I wanted to be part of You are not alone murals because it is really important cause and In the past I was in need of that help and it was a really hard time for me, that after I could leave that situation, I saw my life changing a lot, it was hard but at the same time necessary and for sure if I didn't have support from my family and friends I think it could have been more complicated, so I wanted to participate with the reason of giving like a shred of hope to the people passing by checking the murals of us and collectively , some hope warmth for them to feel welcomed.

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