Hidden Reality: Chic Favela

Hidden reality: Chic Favela

Gambiarra is a Portuguese term used to describe ‘making do’ and giving new life and purpose to anything that is available. Gambiarra characterises the hidden reality of life in the Brazilian shantytowns known as Favelas.

During a research trip to Brazil in 2014, I saw the diversity in the lives of Brazilian people; from the luxury enjoyed by the wealthy to the poverty of those in favelas. My design concept intends to highlight the disparity using different surfaces and materials to reflect contrasts with the rich and poor and show a transition between the two.

I aim to show the beauty in everyday materials, focusing on their patterns and textures to reflect the Brazilian mentality that every item has potential. My drawings are based on scrap pieces of wood which have been distorted through reflection.

Everyday materials such as found corrugated cardboard are used to highlight how materials can have a second life. I have combined simple materials and colours with reflective, shiny, surfaces to represent superfluous wealth.

The outcomes have an interior focus and are one off, large-scale, surface texture panels and designs for soft furnishings including wallpaper and fabrics. My pieces are aimed at the luxury sector but the irony is that they will have originated from waste and only reveal their origins through careful, close inspection. The surfaces reflect a distorted view and each piece represents the hidden reality of the problems going unnoticed in Brazil.