Wasted Rita

If you haven’t yet had the chance to see the provocative art of Wasted Rita, you can do so until May 27, from Tuesday to Saturday, between 2pm and 7pm. The exhibition with a long name takes over the main space of the Underdogs Gallery, in Marvila, in the capital, and reveals a hard reflection on what has been the life of the artist so far.

From the dread of the media to the despair of finding a home

The solo exhibition of Rita Gomes, as she is known outside the art world, presents new works, with a bonus for the visitors: the launch of a limited edition. From the dread of the media to the despair of finding a home, the renowned artist shares her daily life and the shelters of the last months, after becoming homeless in the face of the Lisbon housing crisis. After a decade living in the capital, her eviction was the reason for the first sketches of The desperation of the desperate desperately despairing for this desperation to heal, an approach that immerses us in Wasted Rita’s reality and, well, in a scenario that is nowadays more universal than ever. 

Confronting what she sees and lives, the artist ventures into new media with the creation of an immersive virtual reality experience. The remainder of the exhibition is nothing new for those who are familiar with Rita’s expressive means, which are paintings, drawings, LED installations and sculptures created through 3D printing. In them we see anxieties, fears, clashes with the absurd and frustrations. A true social portrait. Cultural. Political. During the creative process, Wasted Rita channelled the pressure of her life into art, but with a disconcerting sarcasm and in a moving and intimate way.

Reality without a veil of ignorance

She says she has used reality shows and influencer culture as sources of escapism, true indicators of the panorama of human nature in the contemporary world. In a love-hate relationship with life and the world around her, the Portuguese artist throws a bucket of cold water over us so that we can see reality without a veil of ignorance. 
So, here’s a suggestion. Take a walk through vulnerability, mixed in with references to celebrities and far-fetched and biting thoughts. A provocative art, without filters or euphemisms.