Rui Calçada Bastos

Rui Calçada Bastos exhausts all the possibilities of the video medium by allowing a complete world of images to develop on the screen using minimal equipment: “Bastos employs the video medium and its potential in the way that others might use a pencil. The minimal technical repertoire leads to a lively world of images that does not merely develop on the screen, but uses this as no more than its starting point.” (Doris von Drathen) Bastos’ works, which combine such a variety of media as video, installation, photography and sound, are often concerned with concepts such as identity, a sense of alienation, isolation and melancholy. The works are located in a fictional sphere, but one which obviously includes biographical features; the artist intermingles his imaginary world with personal experiences and memories.