Interviewed by Lucy A. Edwards on behalf of The Moniker Foundation and Arts Unknown
Diogo Machado, aka Add Fuel, is a Portuguese artist whose practice has evolved from illustrative universes - inspired by comics and sci-fi - to the reforming of traditional designs of azulejo tiles, taking their patterns and palette as the starting point for much of his work.
Here at Moniker, in collaboration with Arts Unknown, we've teamed back up with Diogo to offer a print giveaway from our 2021 Moniker Editions charity print release 'Home Street Home'.
To celebrate the print giveaway, we caught up with Diogo to give you guys an insight into his world as of late! (Head to the bottom of this page to find out what you need to do to be in with a chance of winning a signed and limited edition print by Add Fuel!)
Last time we sat down for a chinwag it was 2021! Where does the time go! Let’s kick off with your career highlights from the past few years...
2021, oh time does fly. Quite a lot has happened. Well, I (like quite a lot of other artists) explored a bit on the blockchain and into the NFT’s universe. That was fun and different. Also kept a steady drop of editions, screen prints and tile editions, painted murals and tile murals, love working on those. And yeah, I had a few solo shows, at Subliminal projects in LA in 2022, I did Itinerrance Gallery in Paris and Castanier Gallery in Miami in 2023 and in last May I did StolenSpace Gallery in London. I was also part of some interesting collective shows, I did ‘Urban Revolution’ at Cordoaria Nacional in Lisbon and recently I had the pleasure to be a part of the ‘We Are Here’ collective show in the Petit Palais Museum in Paris.
And there were other projects too, I would like to highlight a full video mapping loop animation at The Hôtel de Ville de Paris (the Paris city hall) in last year, 2023, this was part of the Saison Croisée France-Portugal and was a lot of fun to create and coordinate the animation and visuals.
(Other than Moniker, of course 🤣🤣) what has been your favourite collaboration to work on?
Well yeah of course! To be honest I don’t think I have a favourite. Every project is different and special in its own way.
I collaborated with the brand Havaianas in 2022, we did 2 unique models and 2 unique artworks to be auctioned and the profit was donated to charity, this with the support of the National Tile Museum in Portugal.
In 2023 the collaboration with Choose Love in a 48h time gated print edition was so meaningful for me, it was super special and we were able to donate quite a good amount to such a noble cause.
In a different spectrum, I worked with the good people at Superplastic, we did a few vinyl collectible toys, love that medium too. And I have to mention Wynwood Walls and GGA in Miami in 2021 (and still ongoing actually, with all the exclusive merchandise). It is always a pleasure to with dedicated and extraordinary people.
Tell us about a favourite mural of yours? Give us a little back story or insight story (it could be a funny install story or reason the wall happened or the narrative behind the work itself - anything that has a little story to it)
I always say that my favourite mural is the last one. And this is actually true. I put a lot of work, research and dedication into each and every mural I create (either painted to tile mural), So every time I finish a mural I think ‘yeah this is the best one so far’. I know, maybe it doesn’t make much sense, but this actually how I feel. There are some happy cosmical coincidences, so, last year, 2023 I was in Salina, Kansas for a festival called BOOM! Salina and my very good friends PichiAvo were there too for the festival and we talked a bit about one day we should do a collaboration, and turns out there was one day there that the wind was super strong and we weren’t able to work in our main murals, so we decided to go to a kind of abandoned train yard and ended up doing a piece together, Martha Cooped was there and she did a lot of photos, and this for me one of the best feelings, just spending time with friends, planning, sketching and painting and then with the legendary Martha doing photos, all the stars aligned, you know? Was just so much fun.
You have a broad portfolio of canvas, ceramic, print, mural and even cross-stitch - do you have a favourite medium to work with/on?
I very much enjoy exploring different techniques, but the tile is for sure my favourite medium - it’s the one that is faithful and true to the graphic representation - it fits better with the visuals. But, yes, I do like to explore different materials and mediums - but its the tile that allows me to create the bridge between old and traditional to modern and contemporary - the material itself is so noble and connects perfectly with the Portuguese tradition.
Tell us more about the print, in your own words:
‘HOME STREET HOME REDUX’ is a reworked version of a print I did back in 2015 (called HOME STREET HOME). This redux version made sense to me, was an instinctive choice because back in May of 2021, the world was slowly going back to ‘normal’, in a post-pandemic moment, and all of us had this feeling of ‘I need go outside, I need be on the streets after all this time at home’, so the streets became somehow like a second home. And there is another layer, another meaning that can be added here. Our ‘home’ is where we are, we, as humans are our ‘home’... doesn’t really matter where we are geographically, right?
All of my print runs are limited and unique but in this case I made an exception, with a twist of course, as its a redux version, not a re-print of the original - the idea is pretty much the same, but the visuals and format are different.
💠 PRINT GIVEAWAY 💠
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Here’s how to enter this giveaway (Instagram only)
YOU MUST FOLLOW:
💠 @moniker.art
💠 @addfuel
💠 Tag a friend in the comments on the post
💠 Share on your story for an added chance to win
💠 PRINT DETAILS 💠
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HOME STREET HOME (REDUX), 2021
Add Fuel
Four-colour hand pulled screen print on Keaykolour white 300 g/m2 paper
Signed and numbered by the artist
A/F emboss seal
38 × 38 cm (15 × 15 inches)
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