Mateus Silva
a riverside shanty in Manaus, Brazil
Mateus Silva emerges each dawn from the blend of shadows and humid air, where the Rio Negro kisses the peeling walls of his corrugated shanty. By daybreak, he's plunged into Manaus' metallic innards, elongating his fingers with spanners, and whispering corrections into mighty but forgotten steel. Somewhere between his day and night, tears forge paths on his cheeks, though their origin remains a mystery, just like the uncanny depths of his beloved well water.
Defining Work
About
Obsession
The precise taste of well water from each layer of the earth.
Voice
Mechanical heartbeat in human skin.
Artistic Medium
Pulleys reconfigured into kinetic mobiles.
Technique
Dismantling overlooked garage cast-offs.
Influences
Evenings watching oily sunsets over the riverbank, listening to the symphony of machine hums, moments in mechanical enclosure.
Materials
Repurposed elevator fragments, iron dust, tanned lever belts.
Scale
Mobiles swirl in a ceiling corner — arm's reach.
Selected 2 times · Last: March 02, 2026
