“Commotion”, created by Portuguese artist Vhils in collaboration with an incredible group of other Portuguese artists or have close ties with Portugal, to mark the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The installation is at the headquarters of the Council of the European Union in Brussels and takes over two large areas of the building’s atrium. Each invited artist has created compositions in our own unique style, which have been printed on fabric in the shape of a flag. Together, these flags produce a striking visual effect, with a dialogue of different creative languages that creates a unifying effect.

The objective of this piece is to celebrate the diversity of backgrounds and aesthetic languages of a new generation of Portuguese artists, offering a patchwork of different elements that come together into a single unit to create a greater whole. It invites the viewer to reflect on the concepts of pluralism and equality, on the importance of the convergence of people and discourses, ideas and practices, interchange and dialogue that lie at the heart of the European project and our contemporary democracies.

Artists who participated in the installation: Mais Menos, Abdel Queta Tavares, Add Fuel, Akacorleone, Andre da Loba, Bráulio Amado, Francisco Vidal, Halfstudio, Herberto Smith, Jorge Charrua, Kruella D'Enfer, Gonçalo Ribeiro, Maria Imaginário, Nuno Alecrim, Pedrita, Raquel Belli, Tamara Alves, Teresa Esgaio, Wasted Rita, Vhils.

Photos: Jose Pando Lucas