No. 1
Sometimes called street art, reverse graffiti, or an architectural sculpture…whatever the case, Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto’s vision is fascinating beyond words. Interested in street art since the age of 13, Alexandre has taken up scratching faces into the facades of buildings all around the world. His architectural embellishments are hauntingly beautiful and his creativity will leave you breathless.
No. 2
No. 3
No. 4
No. 5
Farto has traveled all over Europe and even into the US to compose and chip away his portrait series. You can find his faces in Moscow, Italy, London, Portugal and NYC.
No. 6
No. 7
No. 8
Though some of the portraits are large in scale taking over an entire building façade, others are small and hardly noticeable like a ghost image playing tricks on the eye.
No. 9
No. 10
For his scratched portrait series called “Scratching the Surface”, Alexandra first paints the wall with his subject using paint as a guide for the removal process then using jackhammers, picks, hammers and his own hands to chip and peel back the plaster from the concrete wall. What remains is a relief of the face and a wonderful contrast between the smooth facade of the building and the ruble behind it.
No. 11
It amazes me to think that there is so much creativity in this world that we are not even aware of. I’m still scratching my head as to how Alexandra Farto does it.
