10 Questions with Wictor Doarte

Wictor Doarte is a Brazilian artist who lives in the capital of São Paulo and, from an early age, began to express himself through drawing and painting. Over time, the search for art became essential. Today, he is a Visual Artist who, in addition to being a trained photographer, is a self-taught illustrator and designer.

In 2020, he was the Editor and Director of the documentary "Renda Guaianás" from the Jardins Comestíveis project, where he was able to work alongside the French-Tunisian artist Jean-Paul Ganem. The documentary was shown in 2023 at Museu Catavento, in São Paulo Capital, through the Cinema no Parque event.

He even exhibited at the Objetos do Olhar art gallery, located in Augusta - São Paulo, for the collective exhibition "Olhar da Rua", where they were able to display their photography works.

In 2023, his works were featured in national and international art magazines, including Suboart Magazine, Revista Azar, The Mobile Library, Revista Zupi, and the Art Work Gallery.

@doar.te

ARTIST STATEMENT

Wictor Doarte seeks to bring the loneliness that exists in the crowd. Today, no matter how much we are surrounded by people, wherever we may go, it doesn't mean we are not alone.

Wictor brings to light the presence of Being with himself, trying to unravel the mysteries and complex issues of each person from afar. "Where is he going?", "What was he like as a child?", "What are his fears nowadays?", "Does he have a good relationship with himself?", are some of the questions that Wictor thinks about when photographing.

Treating each individual who passes through his lens with empathy, he tries his best, even from afar, and is always on the lookout to deepen and connect with each one through the supposed stories and answers to the questions raised and reinforcing the connection he has with himself.

INTERVIEW

First of all, tell our readers a little bit about you. When and how did you start getting involved with photography?

Well, I'm from São Paulo, Brazil, I'm 26 years old, and I've always been very curious about the world. I was taught to ask about everything, and I asked about everything. How it worked and why. In this, my gaze has always been attentive, both to textures around me, striking colors, and even to how people behave in groups.
I discovered many unique moments happening, which, given the context of the moment, seemed like something rare to see, because it seemed like only I saw it, while everyone else around was rushing around, going to work, college or just looking at their cell phone. distracted, they didn't seem present.
As a result, in 2014 I started taking my first photographs with my cell phone. At first, my focus was landscape. On a path I took every day, at the same point, I could see the sunrise. And it was beautiful. Full of different colors and cloud shapes. From then on, it was love with this act of immortalizing and my desire to show the world what they missed by not being so present, was born.

You also work with other mediums. How would you define yourself as an artist? What is your personal aim?

Currently, in addition to photography, I work with digital illustration and am exploring painting on canvas.
I feel that somehow, I am connected with the world, in all its fullness, as if it wanted to show me unique and valuable things. When I say “world” it means people, flowers, insects, landscape, everyday events and unique things that you notice when you are slightly aware of where you are!
This is reflected in my photography, and as references for my illustration. My goal is to convey feeling. I want to repost, duplicate, show a little of how I feel about the world.

Let’s talk about your work. What, for you, is the most enjoyable part of your art?

When I go out to photograph, I usually think of a point A (start) and a point B (end). The route between them, I do randomly. The most fun thing about this is discovering places that I never discovered, or would never go to if I were on a bus or in a car.
And with that, see unique scenes happening. Whether it's a hug between people, a dog like its owner, a person in a different pose, etc. And of course, people's looks can be funny. It looks like they've never seen anyone with a camera, I feel like they're running away from me when they see me, so I try to stay on the lookout as much as possible. Without being seen!

Where do you find inspiration for your work, and what is your creative process like? 

My inspiration, immediately, comes a lot from my trajectory as a person. I have always been, by choice, a lonely person. I always liked to stay in my corner, and I learned to enjoy my company. For a long time, I felt weird about being this way.
Today, in my photography, that's what I look for, in addition to unique scenes, people enjoying their own company. Regardless of the reason. Whether it’s waiting for someone; for going out to smoke; for going from point A to B; be eating something delicious in a bakery and so on.

In your statement, you mention bringing attention to the loneliness that exists in the crowd. How do you capture and convey this theme in your photography, and what message do you hope viewers take away from your work?

When I'm on the street, I look for specific people. Those who are with themselves. In your own company and enjoying it in some way, whether good or bad.
My main focus, in addition to bringing up this topic of “loneliness”, and trying to normalize it for people who know how to enjoy it, is to make others think. The “other” is who I photograph.
The “other” photographed is sitting, dressed in black, inside an empty, almost completely white warehouse. (details from one of my photographs)
When photographing, I think: what is he doing there? Is happy? What are his fears and does he fight them, or let himself be beaten down? What are your goals?
I question myself a lot about others and I believe that in doing so, I exercise an act of empathy, of understanding that what surrounds others are various things, good and bad, that we don't know how the other deals with.

You mostly work with black and white photography. Why did you choose this medium? And what does it represent to you?

I love color, and this is clear in my illustration work. However, in photography, it can end up working in a distracting way. My photographs are not chewed. I want people to feel, think about and admire, not my work exactly, but the photographed one.
With this, black and white appears as an open door inviting the viewer to see beyond, rather than being “lost” with so many colors.

What "mysteries and complex issues" do you aim to unravel about each person through your photography, and how does this contribute to the narrative you create with your work?

To be honest, I wanted to have time to meet a lot of people. Taking time to listen to their desires, losses, goals, what they do in their free time, etc.
With this desire in my heart, what I can do at the moment is photograph these people and question myself from afar about all of this. Sometimes, given the context of the photograph, you can imagine many things.

What is your favorite experience as an artist so far?

From afar, exhibiting in a gallery. And just the one I always visited when I could. It was incredible, I met other artists and photographers, techniques and the best of all, was having people who believe in me and my work by my side, celebrating with me.
And also, international exposure. When it appeared in my first magazine, it was a shock for me. That’s when it hit me that “I’m an artist”.
If in 2014 someone had told me that I would go through this, I wouldn't have believed it.

Looking ahead, what are your aspirations and goals as a visual artist, and are there specific themes or projects you plan to explore in the future?

There's a lot I want to do. But the most important thing for me is to leave art free for everyone to access.
I have art plans for the streets, such as urban interventions and art collage projects on bus stops and walls in my city.
And I believe that “personal growth” and “empathy” will be my main theme for a long time!

And finally, what are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Anything exciting you can tell us about?

Well, now in January I painted my first canvases, a series titled “rock, paper, scissors”. My plan is to be more adventurous with painting. Spread my paintings around the house and who knows, around the world.
However, I am also doing some studies with tiles. One of my art dissemination projects is to glue tiles around the city, and especially in the area where I live, which is more peripheral, with difficult access to Art and Museums.
And moving forward, I want to learn ceramics and graffiti.
Let's see what 2024 brings me!

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.