Obsolete, Catarina Sampaio Teixeira

First solo show of young Portuguese artist Catarina Sampaio Teixeira at Hypercube Space. Statement from the artist Catarina Sampaio Teixeira
I am interested in examining all the basic issues of essentialism, especially concerning the human being, in their biological and social forms, to reach existential reflections, which I play with to create my artistic work.

In short, my research and artistic work reflects on the diversity of human behaviour and societal construction, provoking questions about what is seen and experienced.

Questions include; the artificiality and rigidity of the materials and shapes of our buildings, in contrast to the natural shelters of the animal kingdom; the important theme of comfort that gives us a pure and more complete feeling; the need to keep safe from things that hurt us, such as secrets or, for example, the construction of unbalanced human relationships.

I developed the body of work for the exhibition, ’Obsolete' using different materials and techniques that inspired much of the process of creation. In my creative process, the idea and the concept that I want to convey often arises first, and then I try to materialise it using the materials that make it possible. However, sometimes, the material itself informs the concept. For example, the work ‘Origins I’, was created from the material, glycerin - the base of the soap, made from the components oxygen, hydrogen and carbon (that enable the origin of life as we know it) and honey - a product of the action the bees, which gives the work its colour. Combining these two substances to form a sculpture of a cradle, that is progressively destroyed through the performance of the audience, who are invited to wash their hands in the cradle creates an analogy of our complicity in environmental wear.

Overall, in my artistic practise, I value interaction with the spectator, who can either be emerged and impelled by my works or even become part of them, providing a more direct reaction and a deeper reflection on what they are experiencing.

About the artist

Catarina Sampaio Teixeira was born in 1999, Lisbon, Portugal. She graduated from the Faculty of Belas-Artes Lisbon and studied Painting. She has participated in group exhibitions such as Show up of Young Artists, Vila Nova de Gaia, 2021; Pandemic Symbol, 2021; Virtual Exhibition on Art2Act, 2021. She attended an artist residency at Telheiro da Encosta do Castelo, Oficinas do Convento at 2021 and realised an art performance 'You can do whatever you want' on Rua de Xabregas No:2.