Acrylic gesso and acrylic paint on inkjet printed rough 140gr/m² book printing paper
90 x 90 cm | 35.4 X 35.4 in

A shape of a body that cannot be said if it is formed by or divided into several parts. This new fragmented entity organized in an orthogonal composition, following the limits of the paper's surface, presents disruptions emanating from its body. They are like waves that propagate in the apparent black void, they want to extend through the vastness, but are interrupted along the path of light and consciousness.

DISRUPTED WAVES, 2020

Video loop installation, 2'19", color, sound.
Sound Design by Rafael Estrela

EXHIBITIONS
June 2020, 48 Stunden Neukölln Art Festival. Online video streaming and solo physical show, Gelegenheiten, Berlin-Neukölln. 
https://vimeo.com/433630898

The video installation is motivated by a critical examination of current social, political, and ecological paradigms and tries to awaken individual consciences, encouraging the reflection on profound future changes. Berlin is a city with an active voice, constantly questioning current models, not only through public demonstrations but also through private gestures, offering the ideal stage for a discussion of values, and the fundamental tools and openness to criticize our society. The artwork idea occurs after reading the book “Plantation Memories. Episodes of Daily Racism”, UNRAST VERLAG, 2018, by Grada Kilomba. A Portuguese writer, psychologist, and interdisciplinary artist, living in Berlin, whose works critically examine racism and post-colonialism, among other subjects. In this book, it is evident that, albeit often in a disguised way, false paradigms are still transmitted today as truths, and there is an urgent need to see the world with a critical sense. This cathartic experience triggers a personal reflection transmitted through this video installation. It is, therefore, a critique of white post-colonial society, so-called developed, and yet, based in an economy of inequalities, of induced power stratagems exploiting people and countries in an unfavorable situation, and based on the unsustainable use of environmental resources. The ongoing technological development, presented as a regulator of social equality, is, nevertheless, used to perpetuate ideologies of the past, and the apparent promising Boom is, in reality, a way of leaving us blind.
The installation aims to draw attention and discuss global issues, with repercussions at local and individual levels. Not only the human tragedy of refugee immigration, the constant violation of human rights throughout the world, the inevitable reality of climate change, but also the growing acceptance and strengthening of the far-right policies, such as in Germany the Alternative für Deutschland, that put at risk social and democratic values, namely, the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. The installation is presented at the festival in the form of a video, depicting a three-dimensional structure, in which moving images and repetitive sounds similar to mantras surround the viewer, creating an increasing atmosphere of introspection, motivating states of meditation, and seeking to capture the moment of self-awareness.Two appropriation states are present in the installation. In the first part, looking at the performance staged by two blindfolded characters, the observer has the growing sensation of becoming the protagonist of the action, until disturbing flashes of images appear, followed by total darkness, allowing a complete immersion in the experience. The flash images are intentionally distorted and inverted. They are negatives, alien to the reality of the characters presented in the video. They work as an instrument to generate a feeling of anguish in the viewer. Rather than pointing exact issues, they intend to allow free interpretation, alerting to the fact that we all have a vital role in a future change.

BIG WHITE LIES, 2020

Acrylic gesso, white sand, pigments, acrylic paint and compressed charcoal on stretched 260gr/m2 cotton canvas 
150 x 120 x 2 cm | 59.1 x 47.2 x 0.8 in

EXHIBITIONS
Jul2019, Collective Exhibition ‘QUEERNESS’, Projektraum 145, Berlin-Mitte.

“The painting RED EMANCIPATION depicts a body in a vigorous position facing a urinal floating in a white space yet somehow anchored to a dark surface. This work seeks to reflect on the confrontation between the intimate desires and its public exposition, manifesting the importance of renouncing personal fears and assuming the true Self.”

Segura, X. 2019, ‘Collective Exhibition QUEERNESS Catalog’, Projektraum 145.

RED EMANCIPATION, 2018

Acrylic gesso, enamel water-based paint, acrylic paint, and mineral pigments on inkjet printed rough 140gr/m² book printing paper 
118.5 x 87 cm | 46.7 x 34.3 in

Through the use of geometries that resemble virtual structures defined by their edges, the notion of space is activated, reinforced by the dark background and the metallic tones of some surfaces.This virtual and non-reducing construction is the stage where the shifting body unfolds in its sensory experience. It is not a cage, in the limiting sense of the term, it is the reference that enables the understanding of more remote and deep spaces.

SENSING SPACE, 2020

Mixed media installation
three framed artworks on paper (40 x 40 cm | 15.7 x 15.7 in); transparent acrylic glass sheet (70 x 100 cm | 27.6 x 39.4 in); video loop, 37", color, sound.

In this mixed media installation, two elements seek to capture reality in various dimensions, exploring the perception of time and space. Not only the time represented in the overlapping of photographs intertwined with geometric elements, but also the passage of time, present in the video projection on the acrylic sheet, which in turn activates yet another dimension, this time physical, with the introduction of a plane perpendicular to the surface defined by the three works on paper. The experiential interpretation of this installation aims to convey the idea that reality is a complex concept, not reduced to a single apprehension.

NON-REALITIES, 2020

Acrylic gesso, bio wax-based binder, mineral pigments, and gouache on inkjet printed rough 140gr/m² book printing paper 
(2x) 92 x 147.5 cm | 36.2 X 58.1 in

EXHIBITIONS
July 2020,  Collective Exhibition ‘UNLOCK’, Espacio 88, Poblenou-Barcelona.

In the emptiness left by the negative of the black surface, overlapping body shapes transform the space around them, evoking alternative worlds, which the artwork tries to depict. The journey into this inner space begins with and through movement. It establishes a connection with deep mental states, colliding two opposite yet complementary directions, internal and external. Not only a deep connection within ourselves but also with the universe of which we are an integral part. A Software, whose algorithm is only partially controlled, is used to assemble the instants of the performed movement, captured in photographs, generating a new perception of time and space.

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Alexandre Liberato