There is no better way to get to know artists than to see them talk about their work. That is why every year PIPA Prize produces exclusive video-interviews with the artists nominated for the edition, in which they discuss career, creative process, inspirations and much more. Meet below PIPA Prize 2018 nominees Íris Helena, Rodrigo Linhares, Thiago Martins de Mello, Tiago Sant’Ana and Yuli Yamagata. All of the 2018 video-interviews were produced in partnership with Do Rio Filmes.
Íris Helena
Born in the Northeast, but currently based in the Brazilian capital, Brasília, Íris Helena investigates the urban landscape through what she calls “photo-installations”. In them, precarious media (such as post-its or torn papers) (re)construct the memory of the city, tying it to the risk, the instability and the desire for erasure which characterize the urban scenario. “Artists are very connected to what’s taking place. They are impressions of what happens around them,” she summarizes.
Rodrigo Linhares
Self-portraits represent the core of Rodrigo Linhares‘ production, another first-time PIPA Prize nominee. Born in Santa Maria, in the extreme South of the country, but a São Paulo-dweller for the last fifteen years, the artist says his choice for the photographic medium was, above all, a matter of time-management. “Photography is a medium that allows for a certain speed, which makes the work easier.”
Thiago Martins de Melo
A certain “composition baroqueness” characterizes the works of Thiago Martins de Melo, a 2014 finalist nominated for the Prize for the fifth time this year. The artist creates canvases sometimes filled up with hundreds of characters, many of them from culturally diverse backgrounds and mythologies. After all, says Martins de Melo, his great interest in art is to tell stories.
Tiago Sant’Ana
“This is where I’m coming from: I’m an artist from the Recôncavo Baiano, I’m from the Brazilian Northeast, and I’m black,” states Tiago Sant’Ana. Nominated for the Prize for the first time this year, he says his journey as an artist and performer began thanks to the influence of Ayrson Heráclito, fellow artist and his professor while in Journalism school. His greatest goal as an artist? “To create different narratives that step away from the canonical narratives which come from a Eurocentric and white perspective.”
Yuli Yamagata
Yuli Yamagata‘s research began during her childhood: both her grandmother and mother once worked as seamstresses, and the latter even opened a fashion brand as she grew up. Today, her work investigates the relations between the textile industry and the plastic arts, analysing the symbolic meanings behind various fabric materials and clothing items.
Watch all the PIPA Prize 2018 video-interviews here.