Vhils: Crafting a mural for UNESCO headquarters
Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto aka Vhils creates a 31m long mural with chisels and hammer drills.
Alexandre Farto aka Vhils is a Portuguese artist, known for his striking huge murals that have appeared on city walls from Brazil and the US, to Senegal and Vietnam. He uses a bas-relief carving technique, which involves using chisels and even hammer drills to scrape away at the fabric of the wall, revealing the history in the layers below the surface.
Abi McNeil talks to Vhils as he works on his latest project – a 31 metre long mural for the Paris headquarters of UNESCO, featuring centre stage, the portrait of the British politician and reformer Ellen Wilkinson, who presided over the Organization's inaugural Conference. The mural also showcases the diversity of world heritage that UNESCO protects, with depictions including the pyramids of Egypt and Mexico, Timbuktu in Mali and the cathedral of Brasilia.
Presenter: Abi McNeil
Producer: Andrea Kidd
(Photo: Alexandre Farto aka Vhils. Credit: Abi McNeil)
Last on
More episodes
Watch Vhils create a mural for UNESCO using chisels and power tools
Portuguese artist Vhils etches into ‘the layers of history’ to make a mural for UNESCO
Broadcasts
- Tue 19 Sep 2023 03:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service
- Tue 19 Sep 2023 10:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service
- Tue 19 Sep 2023 17:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Tue 19 Sep 2023 21:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
- Tue 19 Sep 2023 22:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service Europe and the Middle East & ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Afghan Radio