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Born in Lisbon in 1987, Alexandre Farto, better known as Vhils, is today one of the most authoritative voices in international street art. His style is unique: he doesn’t add color to walls, but carves, scratches, and fragments them. A kind of “archaeology of the present” that brings to light hidden stories and identities buried within the layers of the city.
But Vhils’ true strength is not only aesthetic: it lies in his relationship with local communities. For him, art is never an isolated gesture, but a living dialogue with those who inhabit the place.
Destroying to Reveal
His poetics are rooted in creative destruction: a way to go beyond the surface and give visibility to what usually remains hidden.
From the favelas of Rio de Janeiro to the suburban neighborhoods of Lisbon and Beijing, Vhils listens, gathers faces and stories, and transforms them into portraits carved into walls. Each engraving thus becomes a monument to everyday life, an act of restitution and shared memory.
Art as Social Infrastructure
Vhils’ work goes beyond artistic intervention: it often becomes a participatory process. Residents are co-authors, active protagonists in the transformation of public space. Walls no longer divide, but tell stories.
This attention to the collective dimension is also evident in his projects with international institutions such as MAAT in Lisbon, the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, and the CAFA Art Museum in Beijing, where the artist integrates installations, documentaries, and community practices.
Scratching the Surface: A Philosophy
The celebrated project “Scratching the Surface” is much more than a technique: it is a metaphor. To scratch the surface means to break appearances, but also to dig into the memory of a place. Each wall becomes urban skin, to be carved with respect in order to reveal its stories.
Vhils’ research is expressed through a wide range of media: controlled explosions, cinema, video art, theater. Each medium is an opportunity to give voice to the “invisible,” to those who normally remain on the margins.
An Artist-Mediator Between Past and Future
Vhils’ work is an aesthetic, political, and social act. On his carved walls emerge the faces of forgotten communities, submerged identities, and stories that deserve to be told.
More than just an urban artist, Vhils is a mediator between memory and the present, between the individual and the community. His art invites us to slow down, observe, and listen. And to remember that every city is made of stories — and that every story deserves to be carved in stone.
Discover more about Vhils’ works available on Wunderkammern.shop.