@cesah.cesah

Instagram: @cesah.cesah Website: www.cesah.pt

1. What's your story? Where are you from?

I was born in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) but I came to Portugal as a child, at the age of 6. Since then, I have almost always lived in Lisbon. In 2012 I spent 7 months in Italy where I took a photography course. After that, I went to Brazil where I lived between 2013 to 2015 working as a Designer. Now I'm in Portugal again, as Lisbon is the most amazing place to live.

2. Tell us about your aesthetic.

What I think characterizes my work are mostly the details, and the various stories that each detail can tell. It is like a world with several underworlds. I also consider that the presence of organic elements is an important characteristic of it. I see them as purifying in some way.

3. What is your favorite medium and why?

At this moment I don’t have a favorite medium. During the past year, I have been exploring new mediums and techniques, as I find so interesting that when you discover new mediums it takes you to many other new paths, and these new paths lead you to many others. Almost like an infinite pyramid. But it is inevitable to say that in my work, paper and pen are the basis of everything. It is where I embody my ideas and where I can shape it. After that, the range of possibilities is amplified.

4. What is your artistic process like?

Usually, the idea comes up, I make a quick sketch of that idea and start to improve it. Throughout the process, new ideas emerge and I introduce these new stories in a way that everything is visually in balance. After being able to translate everything with a pencil, I start the pen process. At this stage, I am also improvising with the types of patterns I apply and the black spots.

5. Who and / or what inspires your work?

A giant list of artists, nature and the street. The pace of events is becoming more and more frantic, the habits are changing really fast, the relationships between people too, trends, etc. and the streets manage to show us all of that. It is interesting that we can see traces of the past, moments of the present and somehow trends of the future. All this influences my work because it stimulates in me the need to say something. Nature appears as a symbol of purification, fresh air and a slow pace. It makes me think that everything happens in its own time.

6. What role does art play in your life? How does it change the way you view the world?

Art is exactly the possibility of being who you are, saying what you think, questioning what worries you and having a word that is entirely your response to external stimuli, without having to worry about having any approval or not. In a nutshell, it is freedom, it is therapy.

7. Where did you study?

I studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Lisbon.

8. Where do you see yourself in five years?

In a big studio with time to work on all the ideas I have.

9. What about in ten?

Continue to come up with ideas and execute them. And continue to evolve more and more within my work.

10. What do you hope to achieve with your art?

The most important thing is to make people reflect and question themselves. Any feeling that I can awaken is good. As long as I continue to achieve this I am happy. If I could somehow contribute to making the world a better place through my work, that would be a dream.

11. Now, tell us a little more about you as a person: what is your favorite food?

Hahaha, many different foods, but my mother makes a dish called Escondidinho de Camarão (manioc cream with shrimp) which for me is the best.

12. Favorite book?

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson, Steal like an Artist by Austin Kleon.

13. Favorite genre of music?

Rap, Trap, Bossa Nova, Soul, Alternative, Indie, Screamo…

14. What are your hobbies?

Watching documentaries, listening to music, reading articles, running, skateboarding.

15. If you weren't an artist, what would you be?

I'm a designer too, but if it weren't for either of them, I would consider becoming a code programmer.