PEDRABARRO

From the Brazilian Amazon to the capital of Portugal. Jhon Douglas (b. 1988) is a self-taught artist who for over 10 years has materialized his concerns and visions in different supports and creative artifacts, especially in the visual arts, music and multimedia communication. His trajectory began in the formal labor market. After a few years of experience as an art director in creative agencies, he began his path in the world of visual arts. Today he has paintings, murals and canvases distributed in several countries.

Based in Lisbon since 2015, his creative process keeps strong Amazonian references, stimulated by nature and the simplicity characteristic of the country town. All this is reflected in the lively traces and tones of the canvases he paints, in the silhouettes of the masks he sculpts, and in his own way of being and interacting with the world.

PEDRABARRO by Jhon Douglas presents a series of original canvases in acrylic and watercolor, whose concept is reinforced by a selection of sculptures in clay. The works combine different techniques, experimentation with movements and structures, to form mosaics and masks that refer to ancestry.

In the process of this exhibition, Jhon seeks to find a way to encounter reconnecting paths with components of nature, and how powerful they can be. The works portray elements and symbols that bring us closer to a place that refer to this connection, through the search for dormant accesses to our ancestral wisdom. This wisdom understands the impact that the modern world is having on the vitality of the planet.

The masks, used in the rituals of many native peoples, bring the representation of these ancestral elements, and are intended to establish contact with figures that are then being invoked in the works. Spirit entities, gods, or simply forest creatures. Masks suggest their presence, reminding us of what we cannot lose, a very powerful awareness that they can help us recover.