Space exploration, roaming through our vast solar system, an adventure shared by two cosmonauts. Travelling from planet to planet, these two characters explore the interrelations between beings and contexts, overlapping technology, space, time and imagination.
In this series, “Retro Future”, Emanuel De Sousa explores the role of nostalgia, contextualized aesthetically and thematically, supported by sci-fi movies from the 50s to the 70s. More specifically, the two main characters, the yellow and red cosmonauts, have an indirect relationship with the two main astronauts (Dr. Dave Bowman as the red astronaut, played by Keir Dullea and Dr. Frank Poole, as the yellow astronaut, played by Gary Lockwood) from the 1968, “2001: A Space Odyssey”, film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and written by Arthur C. Clarke.
Using objects, clothing and patterns/colors, as close as possible to the period in question, a contextual informal universe is created, having as a base, the nostalgic moments that populate this series.
De Sousa, remembering the excitement of childhood, waiting impatiently for the favorite sci-fi movies and series, imagination and emotions flew high... over the years, these moments became less and less frequent, with adult life creeping in.
With this series, an attempt is made to retrieve these emotions and memories, celebrating the pure and genuine excitement for the unknown and adventure with a theme that per definition is attributed to the sci fi genre. The puzzle of transporting ourselves (living in the future, 2020) to a period where there was no accurate prediction of the times to come, except for the imagination of writers and film directors, has been most interesting, trying to retrieve the aesthetic from the times, recreating their vision of the future.
Emanuel de Sousa, born in Madeira Island, Portugal, is a contemporary artist based in UK. The artist focuses his activity mainly in Painting and drawing of the human figure. Enrolled in Fine Arts at the university of Porto, Portugal in 1998. Through his acrylic and charcoal paintings, Emanuel de Sousa sets himself upon a constant search for a possible truth; he describes it as a study and representation of characters defined by their personalities and dispositions. This self-imposed expectation drives him through intense periods of assignment where he explores the limits of paint, drawing and brushwork, in a constant negotiation between composition, subject and technique. Both the process and end result are meant to be intense in resolve and attitude, dealt with honesty and frontality, transporting the observer into the center of the narrative; thus, the artist proposes a candid and introspective voyage into the realm of the self.
See available artworks by Emanuel De Sousa here.