Mafalda Ruão interviews Felix Vong, author of Umbigo’s cover of the month, a provocative voice that manifests itself through rebellious gestures combining punk-inspired illustrations and painting-statements, which reveal much more than what a superficial sight may lead us think. By looking closer, we will find hints of current sociopolitical local issues, namely from Portugal, where the artist is based now. Or would it not be contemporaneity the involvement with the urgent issues of the present and, even more importantly, the moment in which we make these problems ours.

Across his pieces, Vong enlivens questions of appropriation and authorship, developed though a refined sense of humour in between the slang and the popular discourse, to foster debate while highlighting what is produced in an area of blurred clarity, antagonistic to order and an obedient conduct.

Through jokes, Vong believes there is always a deeper truth in his acts. Reason to assume that he fakes it, therefore he means it.

What sounds closer to you: the white cube art gallery or rather the street/meme art?

Both. I quite like to visit art galleries and museums (exhibitions in general). It’s about the experience of the art work in front of you, to look at it with your own eyes, to think and to feel with your mind, etc. The street and meme art is a different dimension to connect with. They have their own power of the presentation, something that a white cube can’t reach sometimes; for exemple the capacity of the works to spread, the impact of being out of the gallery space, the broader existence on the internet. Wherever there’s good art capable to inspire me and touch me, I would say that is the correct place to experience arts.

From John Baldessari to Vhils, from Richie Culver to Basquiat, cross-cutting so many names where do you situate yourself?

‘My art is always other people’s art, but I’d also say that the inevitability of contemporary art is that it’s always a self-portrait as well’, said Gavin Turk once in an interview. Basically, I started my artistic practice by copying and mocking arts that I really appreciate from other artists. Like George Bernard Shaw mentioned ‘Imitation is not just the sincerest form of flattery, it’s the sincerest form of learning.’ But today I would also like to state that ‘I simulate therefore I am’. When I begin to have a new idea it’s like a rebirth, where I transform into another persona, to live another life; just like the concept of Buddhism, once the art piece is done, that part of me died, so I have to move on. From time to time, I realize this feeling releases me from my own boundaries, to keep experimenting and pushing myself farther.

Was it a dream to be part of the collection of Thames & Hudson books? What was the drive behind this work?

Yes or No. I will consider it a bonus if it happens one day, but my satisfaction as an artist is the process of producing art. This is where my happiness is. When I got this chance to talk a little bit about myself, I thought about making something new to publish in UMBIGO, then the idea of this series of drawings, originally by Cecília Corujo,came up. She made it for her final school year as a portfolio front cover, usually referring that she was never good in design, reason why she drew her works in the format of World of Art, the Thames & Hudson book series, stating that ‘combines childish hand gestures and amateur aesthetics with high-art academic series publications.’ In 2013, Sara & André also invited her to made a similar series for them as well, and now it belongs to the on-going project Foundation. In this case for Umbigo, I bring World of Art as a kind of a self-retrospective way to introduced myself, while it’s also and literally using book covers for Umbigo’s cover of the month. A sort of wordplay.

From statements like ‘Contemporary art forger’ to ‘I’m a fake painter’, is your artistic practice a way of telling the truth through lies?

‘I’m a fake painter’ is a self-joke. I am not trained as a painter (I studied graphic design and advertisement), so when I painted that work, I was learning while trying to paint on a bigger canvas. In another hand I paint everything that I am interested to mock, so I am a painter of fake paintings in a way.

Do you believe in everything you say? 

I do believe, even if it’s a joke, because every joke contains more or less a serious ingredient.

Do you think it is possible through a comic and slang way to open people’s eyes for the institutional and financial problems of the Portuguese art scene?

As an artist I think that we should try every single way we can to open dialogue, to look for solutions and to be inspiring.

What is in your plans for the next lying truth?

Seriously, I am going to open my own ‘Contemporary Art Museum’, soon… I would like quote David Bowie here,‘I don’t know where I am going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.’ After all, we should be frank, be humble, cherish what we have, make things with passion, be curious and keep getting excited with all the ideas that arise. I think these are the goals.