Portugese street artist Alexandre Farto aka Vhils has opened his new show Dissonance at Lazarides’ gallery in London, developing his work from previous shows Dissection, held at Lisbon’s EDP Museum in 2014 and Vestiges, held at the Gallery Magda Danysz in Paris.  Dissonance explores the relationship between individuals and the city and how individuality and personality is being lost to the “chaos engendered by technology, visual communication and mass media, by public space and urban development.”

“I first saw Alex’s work back in 2007 and was totally floored. Here was this crazy Portuguese kid, doing these mad portraits on the street by chopping out bits of walls. It was one of the most innovative techniques I’d ever seen. It has been a pleasure to see how much he has come on from those early days to his most recent museum show in Lisbon. Long may it continue.” – Steve Lazarides

Vhils is asking whether we are losing eccentricity, uniqueness and individuality and are becoming more abstract, more shaped by the environment around us?   Where are human aspirations and creativity – is the environment in which we live sustainable, without individuality?  Is Vhils making a statement, highlighting a risk or asking a question?  Or, perhaps he is reminding us that artists like himself are able to break free of their environment and show their individuality by using the fabric of the city, such as old doors, to highlight creativity.