Raquel Fortes

I was born in Mozambique, I bathed in the polychrome of the warm waters of the Indian Ocean and sipped the intense tones of the African sunsets. I was lulled by the distant and rhythmic sounds of the “batuques” (drums) and inebriated by the scents of pineapple, coconut and guava. I let myself be impregnated by the warm colours of the “capulanas” (traditional cotton fabrics that Mozambican women use as clothing, in which they sometimes carry their children on their backs) and the shades of the ochre clays of the thatched huts. The nuances of the corals of the Island of Mozambique filled the palette of my imaginary.
This amalgam was obviously carried over to my drawings which, since very small, I executed almost compulsively. At school, my favorite classes were the Drawing ones and the teacher’s praise for my aesthetic sensitivity motivated me further.
At the time, I was also seduced by the various textures that were part of my universe. I painted shells, used tissue paper, cardboard, plaster; made collages… Watercolours, gouaches and brushes replaced the perfumes and creams on the dressing table in my room. There was, however, a “grown up” doll that I dressed and undressed with clothes designed and scrupulously chosen by me (what...

2010 Collective Exhibition at the Ordem dos Médicos do Porto
2011 Collective Exhibition at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto
2012 Collective Exhibition at Galeria Nimbus in Braga
2013 Collective Exhibition at the Povoa de Varzim Tourist Office Gallery
2013 Solo Exhibition at the Soledade Malvar Museum House in Vila Nova de Famalicão
2015 Collective Exhibition at Casa Artes in Vila Nova de Famalicão
2017 Individual Exhibition at Casa Artes in Vila Nova de Famalicão
2018 Collective Exhibition NOC NOC city of Guimarãres
2019 Collective Exhibition NOC NOC city of Guimarãres