Allan Weber

Allan Weber was born and lives in the 5 Bocas community in Brás de Pina, in the North region of Rio de Janeiro. Among the experiences that aroused his interest in art are his contact with pixação and with photography, the latter through skateboarding. Since then, he has deepened and developed his research in the field of photography and through the production of objects and installations. In 2021, he took the course “Formação e Deformação” at the School of Visual Arts at Parque Lage and opened the gallery 5 Bocas, a place where he organizes actions in the community. 

Weber addresses, through different languages, the daily life in a community in Rio de Janeiro. In doing so, he does not simply place himself as an observer: the reality he shares with us is his own and that of everyone around him. By transforming experiences into art, he creates dialogues and possible worlds. Through the title of his first solo exhibition, the artist tells us that “Existe uma vida inteira que tu não conhece“ [There is a whole life you don’t know] (2020) – and, by doing so, he aims to summon and mobilize the gaze of the spectator toward the unknown.

In May 2020, the photo series “Tamo junto não é gorjeta“, shot during the coronavirus pandemic when he worked as a delivery boy, was the cover of the Zum #20 magazine, published by Instituto Moreira Salles. In these images, the gap between the experience of his work colleagues and that of the customers of the food delivery services is made explicit. In the same year, he self-published the photobook that bears the name of his first solo exhibition: “Existe uma vida inteira que tu não conhece”.

Since then, he has developed the series “Dance Day” (2021-2022) and “Dealing Art” (2021-2022) which unfolded into “Endola” (2023), “Ruler” (2023) and “I traveled the whole world within Rio de Janeiro” (2023). In them, the artist appropriates elements related to the culture and reality of Rio de Janeiro’s peripheral communities, such as the tarps of funk dances or the weapons of organized crime, and gives them new meaning by creating objects, collages, and compositions of great aesthetic refinement that recall the constructive tradition in Brazilian art.

Among the main exhibitions he has participated in are: “Brasil Futuro: as Formas da Democracia”, Museu Nacional da República, 2023; “Histórias brasileiras”, Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand – MASP, 2022; “Ecologias do Bem Viver”, Galpão Bela Maré, Rio de Janeiro, 2022; “A gente precisa se ver pra acreditar que é possível”, 5bocas, Rio de Janeiro, 2021; “Rebu“, Parque Lage, Rio de Janeiro, 2021; “Existe uma vida inteira que tu não conhece”, Dízimo A Noiva, Rio de Janeiro, 2020.