My first artistic influence was Bispo do Rosário, who taught me, among other things, that art can be created from discarded materials. The origin of the material doesn’t matter. Ever since I was a child, I watched people in my favela
collect items from the trash to make furniture, toys, and useful objects. I learned early on to build with whatever was at my disposal: I made toys, furniture, and even small structures—that was my first encounter with
architecture. I’ve always drawn and painted, but while studying architecture and urban planning, I began to view the territory even more as an urban phenomenon and applied this to my artistic research.

In my work, I use recycled materials, thereby bringing the practices of my community into art. Collecting objects from the trash and painting them reveals a reading of the city that is imprinted on surfaces marked by the ravages of time. As an architect, I seek inspiration both in reuse practices and in the constructive lessons I learn in the favelas. I strive to create not only sustainable solutions, but also works inspired by popular practices, such as the production of knowledge and the city itself.​