"Memory custom" Drawing

Flavio Morais (São Paulo, Brazil, 1954)
I spent my childhood in the suburbs, a setting that deeply influenced my life and my work with the impact of popular culture. My first encounter with art came through the naïve-style drawings of my father, a welder by trade. I vividly remember how, in an effort to memorize and understand the mechanics of Volkswagen cars, he painstakingly copied an entire book by hand. Those illustrations, drawn without the proper tools, left an indelible impression on me. This early experience with the rudimentary and the handmade was the prelude to my later immersion in the world of Pop Art from the 1960s and 70s, a movement that opened the doors to my career in illustration.

Years later, my path led me to England, where I had the opportunity to attend an art course in the Chelsea School of Art. There, my exposure to the great avant-garde masters fueled my curiosity and ignited a deep passion for experimentation. Through a relentless pursuit of new forms and visual languages, I found a space where creative freedom and personal expression could coexist without constraints.

A constant thread in my artistic practice has been my fascination with childhood fantasy. The pure and unprejudiced gaze of children, free from the rules and conventions imposed by the adult world, has been a continuous source of inspiration. Likewise, I have found in Outsider Art—the work of those who operate on the margins of established norms—a sense of freshness and spontaneity that nourishes my creative process.

Humor, another key element in my work, serves as an essential counterpoint. It is that vital ingredient that makes life more bearable, offering ironic relief during times of difficulty. For me, humor is both an escape and a tool of subversion, allowing me to challenge the everyday, especially in moments of recovery.

My work does not aim to present fixed or singular messages; on the contrary, I invite the viewer to "dance" with it, to interact with a playful spirit, and to engage actively in its interpretation. In my view, art is an exercise of freedom and a game of movement, an ebb and flow, where the true joy lies in participation and discovery.

In the end, I lean towards the simplicity of pencil drawings on paper. This seemingly modest medium provides a direct and immediate connection to the essence of my creativity. It is within this simplicity that I find the freedom to explore, play, and create.