'Senses' by Rodrigo Costa

Rodrigo Costa is a Portuguese visual artist, currently dividing his time and practice between Coventry, UK and Madeira Island, Portugal. His current work involves installation, performative and sculptural pieces focusing on the theme of childhood. Rodrigo reflects on and draws inspiration from his own personal experience and researches ways of creating immersive environments for the audience as well as for himself. His practice then promotes a journey of self-discovery that dabbles with scale, memory-based ‘reality’, identity and image.

"My current work draws from repressed needs and feelings, those that have been deleted and/or reprogrammed by society – our purest, unstained self. Researching ways of reawakening our more organic instincts, by evoking a simpler era – childhood –, it explores the concepts of playfulness, evasion and obliviousness, with great aesthetic emphasis on colour, light and scale."

His work is an expansion on a 'child-like' mind (busy, fuzzy and transformative). It can also be shown through his diverse use of media and his creation of vibrant, brash and whimsical environments in which his wearable sculptures 'live'.

"I represent expressions that incarnate the fleetness so common to children. Inserted in environments that exaggerate in scale and momentum childish gestures and memories, amateur, odd, DIY-like objects, installations and situations reflect on how play may inform, extend and disturb what is described as a socially-acceptable ‘adult’."Everything seems to be happening, everything appears to have been created – society exists drenched in utter boredom. We have forgotten the basics, drowned the easiness and killed true will. Instead, there is a choice to wrongly feed insecurities, rage, hate, egos and depreciation. What I propose with my practice is the creation of playgrounds for questioning and liberation; a journey of self-rediscovery that dabbles with scale, memory-based ‘reality’, identity and image; an alternative to the overly complicated 'now'."

In his Senses Installation (2019) we can see his series of wearable sculptures/costumes which are based on the five senses: touch, smell, sight, hearing and taste. Rodrigo brings these sculptures to life through his video-performances.

Sight

Hearing

Smell

Taste

Touch

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Rodrigo's Website