Rafael Matheus Moreira

Lives and works in Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Artist statement

I am a Latin American artist, Brazilian, born and raised in the north of the country in Igarapé- Açu in the state of Pará and currently reside in Rio de Janeiro. I have a degree in Visual Arts from the College of Visual Arts at the Federal University of Pará. Since 2017 I conduct a research in visual arts where the pictorial representation of the Face and Body of trans-women and travestis is the center of my artistic experimentations. I am a travesti (Latin American female identity extremely marginalized) and in my country this is almost a death sentence since we are the country that kills more trans and travesti women in the world. I understand that part of this violence is due to an imaginary construction about our identities. The place of the travesti in our culture is in the shadows, ready to satisfy the desires of the "good men" who seek us out in advertisements and on dark corners; outside of this place in the darkness, our body is seen as the disease itself: physically, mentally and spiritually. We are denied our humanity, you stop being a "she" or even a "he", and become "this" or "that". I believe that we, travestis, are much more than a body "of dick and breast", this definition is too small to define our lives. Because of this context, I believe that through the Visual Arts it is possible to create a place in the imagination that goes beyond common sense, a place where we can participate in history and be proud of our bodies, lives and identities.

Artwork