Oddity Central

Artist Creates Large Scale Portraits by Chipping Away the Plaster Off of Derelict Buildings

Posted: 29 May 2012 03:42 AM PDT

Can beauty be created out of destruction and chaos? Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto believes that it can, and offers his incredible chiseled portraits on the side of buildings, as proof.

23-year-old Farto, aka Vhils, grew up in Seixal, on the outskirts of Lisbon, and became interested in graffiti art during the late 1990s. Apparently, at some point that just wasn’t enough for him and he started looking for other ways to express his creativity through urban art. He came up with subtractive art, which involves creating detailed portraits by breaking away pieces of walls, by using various techniques. His amazing works have been chiseled onto various derelict buildings around Europe and featured in exhibitions alongside pieces by world-renowned street artists the likes of Banksy. The young artist hopes his “faces in the city” portraits will inspire people to see beyond what meets the eye.

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To create his magnificent portraits, Alexandre Farto usually begins by sketching out the piece in spraypaint before using a variety of destructive techniques to get rid of wall plaster. His arsenal includes hammers, drills, chisels, bleach and even explosives. After he has removed the excess plaster from the wall, Farto will often use additional color and shading to refine the look of his artworks. Still, "It's never me who determines the final form of a piece," Vhils says. "I never have and never want to have absolute control over what I'm doing – I like the unexpected and the uncertain."

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Watching the artist at work, you may find the creative process brutal and destructive, but the final results are simply mind-blowing. "The idea is to take the act of vandalism – the act of destroying in order to create – to the extreme, as modus operandi” Farto says.

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Photos © Alexandre Farto

Artist Creates Large Scale Portraits by Chipping Away the Plaster Off of Derelict Buildings was originally posted at OddityCentral.com

Agni Keli – Unique Indian Tradition Encourages Fighting Fire with Fire

Posted: 29 May 2012 02:10 AM PDT

Agni Keli, also known as the Fire Fight of Kateel Durga Parameswari Temple, in Mangalore, India, is a unique ritual which has hundreds of devotees throwing burning palm fronds at each other, to appease the Hindu goddess Durga.

Each year, the Festival of Kateel Durga Parameswari Temple is celebrated over 8 days, in the month of April. It commences on the night before Mesha Sankramana Day, and features a series of themed performances, the most intriguing of which is Agni Keli. On the second night of the festival, hundreds of devotees gather at the temple of Durga, in Mangalore, to carry out a centuries-old tradition that involves throwing and getting hit with burning palm fronds. The fiery action attracts thousands of spectators, who watch as the torch-wielding men try to set each other ablaze.

Agni Keli 550x307 Agni Keli Unique Indian Tradition Encourages Fighting Fire with Fire

Photo: Daijiworld

The rules of Agni Keli have always been very simple. The devotees who take part in the fire fight split into two groups and face each other from a distance of 10 – 15 meters. Armed with a hefty supply of burning palm frond torches, they start throwing them at each other, trying to hit as many devotees from the opposing group. During the holy fire fight, each participant can only make five throws, so everyone tries to make their shots count. To prevent serious burns, the men only wear pieces of cloth around their lower body, but they are often set ablaze during the fiery ritual. If a person suffers any burns, they are sprayed with water of Kumkumarchane.

Because everyone has a limited number of throws, Agni Keli only lasts about 15 minutes, but that’s apparently enough to please the goddess Durga and the spectators watching from a safe distance.