Putting a face to a wall: Portugal's Alexandre Farto gets set to carve his work on Hong Kong's urban art scene

Urban artist Alexandre Farto, aka Vhils, who just moved to Hong Kong, has carved portraits of – mostly – anonymous people on the walls of several cities in the world.

Urban artist Alexandre Farto, aka Vhils, 28, whose work has reflected the consequences of development in cities and communities all over the world, on Friday finished carving the portrait of a former factory worker on the walls of Nan Fung Textiles, now being transformed into a creative hub called The Mills, in Tsuen Wan. 

Hammer drills, chisels and sometimes explosives are some of the tools used by the Portuguese artist to shape portraits of people in walls, doors and other structures.

“I work a lot with the chaotic elements of the city ... It’s almost an archaeologist’s work,” said Vhils. “Instead of painting with paints, I paint with layers. I try to reflect on them by exposing them… When you carve on a wall it really reflects the story of the city. If the history is recent, the wall is flat, it doesn’t have many layers, and this has a meaning too,” he said.

Vhils, who started out as a graffiti artist in Portugal, carved his first wall in 2006. “When I was trying to find my way, I came to the idea of not adding layers to the city, but instead erasing, then carving on it and exposing the layers behind. By doing that, I am reflecting on all the changes that a space goes through.”

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