Alexandre Estrela
Lisbon, Portugal, 1971. Lives and works in Lisbon.

Alexandre Estrela began exhibiting his work in the early 90s as part of a generation that stood out for the organization and promotion of collective exhibitions and events. In recent years, the press referred the relevance of several of his exhibitions, like Stargate, organized by Museu do Chiado, Lisbon (2006), Putting Fear in its Place, at Chiado 8, Lisbon (2008), and Viagem ao Meio, at gallery ZDB, Lisbon (2010).

Film and video are the central media in the practice of Alexandre Estrela, who defines it as an approach of “formal and conceptual issues arising from the intersection of images and matter”. Having a broad technical and historical knowledge of the media he uses, the artist creates complex systems taking advantage of the characteristics of the devices: the camera, the video projector, the screen and the perceptual reception of images. Visual effects, associations of sound and image, creation of synopses and titles which sometimes correspond with the image and sometimes not, and the transformation of the architecture of the space, are strategies frequently used by the artist to deconstruct the usual ways of perception and knowledge of objects and space.

To create misunderstandings, mislead, lead to decoding, require decisions, are processes induced by the artist who is interested in the coexistence of several layers of meaning and levels of perception, in an attempt to activate a critical consciousness in the viewer.

At the moment, Alexandre Estrela is doing a PhD about the concreteness of the moving image, a research that will have its final presentation in an exhibition at Fundação de Serralves, in 2013.

Forthcoming Exhibitions
2013
1/2 Concreto, Museu de Serralves, Porto, Portugal.
Galeria Quadrado Azul, Porto, Portugal.
Solo Exhibitions (selection)
2013
The Sunspot Cycle, Flat Time Home, London, United Kingdom.
2011
A Wall Against the Sea, Galeria Solar, Vila do Conde, Portugal.
Polar Inversion, Rua Madalena Projekt, Lisbon, Portugal.
2010
Alexandre Estrela – Subjective Projections, Bielefelder Kunstverein, Bielefelder, Germany.
Uma ilha no tecto do mundo, MARZ Galeria, Lisbon, Portugal.
Téléthèque, Instituto Franco-Português, Lisbon, Portugal.
Viagem ao meio, Galeria Zé dos Bois, Lisbon, Portugal.
Motion Seekness, Culturgest, Porto, Portugal.
2009
Inércia, Meet Factory, Prague, Czech Republic.
Deserto Acéfalo, In.Transit, Porto, Portugal.
Ar curvo, MARZ Galeria, Lisbon, Portugal.
2008
Putting Fear in its place, Chiado 8 – Arte Contemporânea, Lisbon, Portugal.
2007
Radiação Solar e Forças Cósmicas, Galeria Graça Brandão, Lisbon, Portugal.
2006
Stargate, Museu do Chiado, Lisbon, Portugal.
Merda, Centro Cultural Vila Flor, Guimarães, Portugal.
Group Exhibitions (selection)
2012
2012 Odisseia Kubrick, Centro da Memória, Vila do Conde, Portugal.
shapes and forces, Galeria Quadrado Azul, Porto, Portugal.
Collecting Collections and Concepts, Fábrica ASA, Guimarães, Portugal.
2011
Video Home System, Pogo, Cinema Nimas, Lisbon, Portugal.
Bauhaus, Rendezvous Festival, Setúbal, Portugal.
O Museu em Ruínas, Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Elvas, Elvas, Portugal.
Si loin, si proche - oeuvres de la collection du Frac Bretgane, L’Imagerie, Lannion, France.
Road Festival 01, Bad Driburg, Germany.
2010
Cabinet d’Amateur, Sala do Veado, Museu de História Natural, Lisbon, Portugal.
Da outra margem do Atlântico, Centro de Arte Hélio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
A culpa não é minha, Museu Berardo, Lisbon, Portugal.
Personal Freedom, Portugal Arte 10, Pavilhão de Portugal, Lisbon, Portugal.
Impresiones y Comentarios: Fotografia Contemporânea Portuguesa, Fundació Foto Colectania, Barcelona, Spain.
Um percurso, duas direcções, Museu do Chiado, Lisbon, Portugal.
Porto: Museu Serralves, Domaine de Kerguéhennec, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Bignan, France.
2009
Forças, Art Algarve 2009, Museu de Portimão and Galeria do Teatro TEMPO, Portimão, Portugal.
Homenagem e Esquecimento, Fórum Eugénio de Almeida, Évora, Portugal.
The Ornamental Body, Witte Zaal, Ghent, Belgium.
Bright morning star, Galeria ZDB, Lisbon, Portugal.
Strip/Stripe, Emily Harvey Foundation, New York, USA.
Psychometry (II), Arratia, Beer, Berlin, Germany.
Psychometry, Exile, Forum Expanded, Berlinale, Berlin, Germany.
2008
The Call, Avenida Liberdade 211, Lisbon, Portugal.
Turn Me On, Pavilhão 28, Centro Hospitalar Psiquiátrico de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
Disarming Matter, Dunkers kulturhus, Helsinborg, Sweden.
Parangolé: Fragmentos desde los 90 en Brasil, Portugal y España, Museu Patio Herreriano, Valladolid, Spain.
Múltiplas Direcções, Museu do Chiado, Lisbon, Portugal.
2007
Fiction Vs. Reality, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal.
Portugal Agora – À propos des lieux d'origine, MUDAM, Luxembourg.
Stream, White Box, New York, USA.
50 Anos de Arte Portuguesa, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal.
Sobreposições, Museu do Chiado, Lisbon, Portugal.
Clearly Invisible, Centro d’Arte Santa Mónica, Barcelona, Spain.
Prémio União Latina, Culturgest, Lisbon, Portugal.
2006
Constelações Afectivas II, Galeria Graça Brandão, Lisbon, Portugal.
Constelações Afectivas I, Galeria Graça Brandão, Lisbon, Portugal.
Densidade Relativa, Centro de Artes, Sines / CAMJAP, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal.
Não chores mais, Plataforma Revólver, Lisbon, Portugal.
Collections
Museu do Chiado, Portugal.
Centro de Arte Moderna José de Azeredo Perdigão, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Portugal.
Portugal Telecom, Portugal.
Fundação PLMJ, Portugal.
BESart collection, Portugal.
Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Elvas/ António Cachola collection, Portugal.
Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain Bretagne, France.
Antipodes, 2011. Two channel video projection, DVD (PAL), loop. Two 140 cm copper tubes, nylon screen. 100 x 75 cm 
Synopsis: The title of the piece “Antipodes” suggest that the images were shot in two diametrical opposed lands. Two videos are projected on the same screen from opposite sides. The two complementary videos scrolls, turn around two copper bars, suggesting that it is the physical screen that moves and not the image. This strong effect creates an endless perceptive movement of a rotating planisphere.
Antipodas, 2011. Two channel video projection, DVD (PAL), loop. Two 140 cm copper tubes, nylon screen 100 x 75 cm 
Synopsis: The title of the piece “Antipodes” suggest that the images were shot in two diametrical opposed lands. Two videos are projected on the same screen from opposite sides. The two complementary videos scrolls, turn around two copper bars, suggesting that it is the physical screen that moves and not the image. This strong effect creates an endless perceptive movement of a rotating planisphere.
Antipodas, 2011. Two channel video projection, DVD (PAL), loop. Two 140 cm copper tubes, nylon screen 100 x 75 cm 
Synopsis: The title of the piece “Antipodes” suggest that the images were shot in two diametrical opposed lands. Two videos are projected on the same screen from opposite sides. The two complementary videos scrolls, turn around two copper bars, suggesting that it is the physical screen that moves and not the image. This strong effect creates an endless perceptive movement of a rotating planisphere.
Key Stone, 2011. Iron sculpture. Variable dimensions 
Moondog, 2010. 80 slides, cardboard screen, CD, Arion Mirage 901 controller. 82 x 54 x 58,5 cm 
Ar Curvo, 2009. Two slide projections, rubber bands, 6 nails. 65 x 65 cm 
Synopsis: The human brain calculates by default the hidden physical forces of its surroundings. It is a fact that we do not need to carry a stone to know how heavy it is. The same happens to an image of a stone, the calculation is similar. An image, or a photograph, plunges the brain into a complex estimation of forces hidden inside the picture. The piece "Ar Curvo" is based on this aprioristic calculus. A slide containing an image of a hanging chain reveals an implicit G-force. A 90º rotation of the slide urges the brain to suspend its gravity calculus for the improbability of what is shown. A horizontal enigmatic force is now sustaining the chain. To emphasize this new force, the image of the slide was distorted in the same direction, by means of digital program called Maya, a program used to calculate and apply forces in representations of solids. The distorted image is then projected next to its original version. The two side-by-side projections present two states of the same image. A resting image and an image in forced tension. A system of rubber bands was then applied/ nailed over the two projected images, emphasizing the inner stresses contained within the two representations.
Ar Curvo, 2009. Two slide projections, rubber bands, 6 nails. 65 x 65 cm 
Synopsis: The human brain calculates by default the hidden physical forces of its surroundings. It is a fact that we do not need to carry a stone to know how heavy it is. The same happens to an image of a stone, the calculation is similar. An image, or a photograph, plunges the brain into a complex estimation of forces hidden inside the picture. The piece "Ar Curvo" is based on this aprioristic calculus. A slide containing an image of a hanging chain reveals an implicit G-force. A 90º rotation of the slide urges the brain to suspend its gravity calculus for the improbability of what is shown. A horizontal enigmatic force is now sustaining the chain. To emphasize this new force, the image of the slide was distorted in the same direction, by means of digital program called Maya, a program used to calculate and apply forces in representations of solids. The distorted image is then projected next to its original version. The two side-by-side projections present two states of the same image. A resting image and an image in forced tension. A system of rubber bands was then applied/ nailed over the two projected images, emphasizing the inner stresses contained within the two representations.
O Cobra Verde, 2009. Single channel video projection, DVD (PAL), 4:40 min, stereo sound. Variable dimensions 
Synopsis: "O Cobra Verde" is a long traveling over a two hundred year old ivy, which crawls along an iron fence. The plant moves slowly, struggling and eating the metal on its way. The video was recorded with night-shot which emphasizes its dark tone. This sensation is enhanced by a guttural sound that brings to the present the effort of centuries. Composed by Paul de Jong, it is the sound of a crying newborn, pitched down to the sound of an adult.
O Cobra Verde, 2009. Single channel video projection, DVD (PAL), 4:40 min, stereo sound. Variable dimensions 
Synopsis: "O Cobra Verde" is a long traveling over a two hundred year old ivy, which crawls along an iron fence. The plant moves slowly, struggling and eating the metal on its way. The video was recorded with night-shot which emphasizes its dark tone. This sensation is enhanced by a guttural sound that brings to the present the effort of centuries. Composed by Paul de Jong, it is the sound of a crying newborn, pitched down to the sound of an adult.
Um homem entre quatro paredes, 2008. Single channel color video projection, mono sound, looped, square projection wall. Variable dimensions 
Synopsis: Five dots tattooed on the top of the hand is a common sign for Portuguese inmates. The tattoo signals a man between four walls. In this synthetic representation of space, the prisoner, signalled by the central dot, is surrounded and framed by four similar dots that represent the four walls of a prison cell. As in the optical illusion of the Kanizsa triangle, the drawing of the four walls is invisible and only guessed by the other four dots/corners. For "Um homem entre quatro paredes", a video containing a magnified image of skin with the five dot mark was video-projected into a wall. The four exterior tattooed dots fit each of the four existing corners. The walls of the room physically fill the optical illusion given by the projected tattoo. In the video the image emerges from an apparent vanishing point expanding onto the screen surface. When the image touches the surface or when the dots reach the corners, a powerful sound of impact is heard. The faster the animation grows, the more violent the sound becomes. At the pick of the animation the prisoner becomes the vanishing point of a deep geometric virtual space. When this moment is attained, the impact sound becomes continuous dangerously interfering with the structure of the building.
Um homem entre quatro paredes, 2008. Single channel color video projection, mono sound, looped, square projection wall. Variable dimensions 
Synopsis: Five dots tattooed on the top of the hand is a common sign for Portuguese inmates. The tattoo signals a man between four walls. In this synthetic representation of space, the prisoner, signalled by the central dot, is surrounded and framed by four similar dots that represent the four walls of a prison cell. As in the optical illusion of the Kanizsa triangle, the drawing of the four walls is invisible and only guessed by the other four dots/corners. For "Um homem entre quatro paredes", a video containing a magnified image of skin with the five dot mark was video-projected into a wall. The four exterior tattooed dots fit each of the four existing corners. The walls of the room physically fill the optical illusion given by the projected tattoo. In the video the image emerges from an apparent vanishing point expanding onto the screen surface. When the image touches the surface or when the dots reach the corners, a powerful sound of impact is heard. The faster the animation grows, the more violent the sound becomes. At the pick of the animation the prisoner becomes the vanishing point of a deep geometric virtual space. When this moment is attained, the impact sound becomes continuous dangerously interfering with the structure of the building.
I to Infinity, 2006. Single channel color video projection on screen, DVD (PAL), silent. 400 x 300 cm, endless 
Synopsis: In "I to Infinity", a video camera is shown from a cubist point of view. All the sides of the machine are shown simultaneously flattened, “glued” to a gravitational center, the objective lens. The camera’s parts occupy the entire video screen in the form of a fractal structure. The objective reveals ongoing slow movement of the lens, following an undisturbed path, deep in space. This perpetual zoom generates not only an anemic sensation but also an illusory gravi¬tational force that gathers the object as one. The center unveils a perpetual movement surrounded by a collage of absolute space.
Merda, 2006. Single channel color video, DVD (PAL), stereo sound. Variable dimensions, 2:20 min 
Synopsis: Ever since the late 70's that the word "merda" appears painted on the walls of the buildings of Estrada de Benfica, the longest street of Lisboa. This peculiar graffiti scoring the street every 20 meters became the subject for a photo book where the word appears centered in all pages. By flipping the book it generates an animation where the word appears suspended and stable while the background flows in a frantic succession of informal images. The flipping of the book was recorded on tape reinforcing the cinematic effect. The sound produced by the action was mixed to a mythic low frequency - the brown tone, a powerful sub-base known for stimulating the guts.
Merda, 2006. Single channel color video, DVD (PAL), stereo sound. Variable dimensions, 2:20 min 
Synopsis: Ever since the late 70's that the word "merda" appears painted on the walls of the buildings of Estrada de Benfica, the longest street of Lisboa. This peculiar graffiti scoring the street every 20 meters became the subject for a photo book where the word appears centered in all pages. By flipping the book it generates an animation where the word appears suspended and stable while the background flows in a frantic succession of informal images. The flipping of the book was recorded on tape reinforcing the cinematic effect. The sound produced by the action was mixed to a mythic low frequency - the brown tone, a powerful sub-base known for stimulating the guts.
Merda, 2006. Single channel color video, DVD (PAL), stereo sound. Variable dimensions, 2:20 min 
Synopsis: Ever since the late 70's that the word "merda" appears painted on the walls of the buildings of Estrada de Benfica, the longest street of Lisboa. This peculiar graffiti scoring the street every 20 meters became the subject for a photo book where the word appears centered in all pages. By flipping the book it generates an animation where the word appears suspended and stable while the background flows in a frantic succession of informal images. The flipping of the book was recorded on tape reinforcing the cinematic effect. The sound produced by the action was mixed to a mythic low frequency - the brown tone, a powerful sub-base known for stimulating the guts.
The ultimate relaxing experience, (soundtrack mastered by Fernando Fadigas), 2006. 33” vinyl, stereo sound 
Synopsis: "The ultimate relaxing experience" is a sound piece where we can hear the relaxing sound of burning on a fire place. The sound resembles crackling fire but in fact it is a montage made out of recorded samples of bone and nerve cracking as a result of an intensive massage.
Hear Here, 2002. Single channel video projection, DVD (PAL), 8 tracks in random play mode. Variable dimensions 
Synopsis: This video is based on the method used to calculate the distance of thunderstorms. By measuring the time laps between the lightning and the following clap of thunder, it is possible to determine how far a storm is. In essence, the fact that sound propagation is slower than light is used. In this piece, a continuous black image is interrupted by a white flash (one single white frame) then followed by a brief, but blasting sound clip. Immediately after the clip, the distance between the flash and the clip is revealed (in miles), establish¬ing a link between the two previous elements. This distance reflects the relative hypothetical position of the flash in relation to the viewer. The time between the light and the sound varies as do the distances. When the sound is synchro¬nized with the image, the title "Hear Here" appears.
Hear Here, 2002. Single channel video projection, DVD (PAL), 8 tracks in random play mode. Variable dimensions 
Synopsis: This video is based on the method used to calculate the distance of thunderstorms. By measuring the time laps between the lightning and the following clap of thunder, it is possible to determine how far a storm is. In essence, the fact that sound propagation is slower than light is used. In this piece, a continuous black image is interrupted by a white flash (one single white frame) then followed by a brief, but blasting sound clip. Immediately after the clip, the distance between the flash and the clip is revealed (in miles), establish¬ing a link between the two previous elements. This distance reflects the relative hypothetical position of the flash in relation to the viewer. The time between the light and the sound varies as do the distances. When the sound is synchro¬nized with the image, the title "Hear Here" appears.
Hear Here, 2002. Single channel video projection, DVD (PAL), 8 tracks in random play mode. Variable dimensions 
Synopsis: This video is based on the method used to calculate the distance of thunderstorms. By measuring the time laps between the lightning and the following clap of thunder, it is possible to determine how far a storm is. In essence, the fact that sound propagation is slower than light is used. In this piece, a continuous black image is interrupted by a white flash (one single white frame) then followed by a brief, but blasting sound clip. Immediately after the clip, the distance between the flash and the clip is revealed (in miles), establish¬ing a link between the two previous elements. This distance reflects the relative hypothetical position of the flash in relation to the viewer. The time between the light and the sound varies as do the distances. When the sound is synchro¬nized with the image, the title "Hear Here" appears.