Rodrigo Vila

Rodrigo Vila (b. 1980, Rio de Janeiro) lives and works in Lisbon. He studied communication design - Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Lisbon. He participated in several workshops, among them illustration at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London. Founded a design atelier, where he works today, since 2007. He also did a course in photojournalism by Fotoclube. His paintings have already been presented in several solo exhibitions.


INTERVIEW C-Heads magazine 2012


Everything is becoming faster, trends are rapidly disappearing as fast as they appeared and the flow of information and pictures increases more and more. Therefore to see the time as something more relative, perhaps even discovering the beauty of slowness exerts a great fascination. Rodrigo Vila has implemented a photo-series whose idea it was not only to capture a fraction of a moment or a scene. Instead he has worked with a pinhole camera and a succession of many pictures during a tour of Lisbon to represent a different time period. We asked Rodrigo a few questions about his work.

What’s the most fascinating thing about photography for you?
The ability to capture a very personal way to see the world.

Who or what inspires you?
The city with all the people, history and fragmented pieces of different times that in the end became the city itself.

Tell us the story behind the “Invented Lisbon” serie:
The fragmented images speak of the impossibility to apprehend the city in its totality and with an only center. The city became different cities where we can find our very own city. All the images portray not a stopped moment in time but a small trace of my own city inside Lisbon and also portray the absent expressions of the habitants of a after-modern city.

Which camera do you use?
In this case I used a pinhole camera.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I see myself with my bag fulfilled with even more images and feelings that make my world even bigger.

The most important thing in life?
Living it.