Luíza Fortes, “Sonhos”
In her first solo show entitled “Sonhos” (Dreams), Luíza Fortes presents her works of graphite on tracing paper between acrylic sheets, a procedure that points out the shadows, transparencies and overlaps of this material. Such a choice emphasizes the quality of “non-containment” of the drawings, indicated by Mário de Andrade, which shall be referred to further on.
Luiza has drawn since she was a child, when she used to paint flying dragons. When she was a teenager she fell in love with the universe of Japanese drawings, and started creating her own Manga editions, fanzines with Japanese hero stories. Her studies in Industrial Design and her work as a tattoo artist complement each other in both her interests. The exhibited works were the base for the tattoos that Luíza has been professionally making for the past six years: each one is unique, produced exclusively for one “client” formalizing the imagination of that person, the desire of the tattooed one interpreted by Luíza. Thereby the line gives life to women with masks, flowers, animals, characters, skulls and other elements, forming a universe of particular themes approximated by the trace.
For Mário de Andrade the drawing had a transitional component, being considered an intermediary art between time and space. For him, it should be read and flicked through, not framed, due to its non-containable characteristic. For that reason the installation method chosen by Luíza Fortes makes the continuity of the images possible.
In the case of the tattoos, the durability of the drawings meld with the skin into which the living artwork was inked, its life limited as our passage on Earth. The needles are like pens with different sizes and, as the drawing, the tattoo constitutes itself as an open fact. The artist can always go back and insert a new trace or detail on the person’s skin, though the drawing will naturally transform.
The overlapped drawings that Luiza presents in this show lead the viewer to the universe of tattoos. With approximated scales, the drawings are overlapped, working as a collage in which distinct elements are joined, their forms no longer outlined, breaking the trace’s thickness, blending the lightness of a dream. The result is an exploration of the canvas ́s limits, whether paper or skin, a game in which there are several combinations.
Curator and Art Critic. Art History Teacher in Rio de Janeiro University – UERJ.
Fernanda Pequeno
Download PDF
