Vhils, born in 1987, is a Portuguese artist whose visual language is based on the removal of surface layers, using various unconventional techniques and tools. In his work, he has transformed exterior walls, exhibition spaces, and specifically manufactured objects/materials: this is a destroying in order to create and in order to expose what is hidden beneath the surface. Vhils has presented his work in over thirty countries, where he has collaborated with local communities and institutions to intervene in specific urban environments, carving, etching, drilling, or detonating his way through the layers of their respective identities.

The installation Untitled was created directly on the wall in 2015, before the museum opened. The work is part of Scratching the Surface, an ongoing project that Vhils started in 2007. The series brings portraits of anonymous people to different places around the world, shaped by intricate removal techniques using hammers, chisels, and drills, while carefully preserving the brickwork’s integrity. Drawing connections between the depicted unknown person, the processed surface, its surroundings, and the viewers, Vhils invites us to reflect upon identity in our present-day urban societies.

Another striking work by Vhils can be discovered in the museum’s courtyard. The Diorama sculpture was created in 2017 by molding concrete in a cast.

On loan courtesy of the Gewobag collection.