Joao Machado- Map Collage

An emerging artist rising to the international scene, Brazilian artist, Joao Machado engages in a daunting series of exhaustive, nearly-obsessive collage works using snippets of maps from different part of the world to create subjects that are Symbolist bent, filled with psychedelia, humorous narratives, irony, and wit.
Brazilian artist Joao Machado makes his art from maps. It came about quite accidentally actually,one day about 6 years ago when Joao was preparing for an art show in Paris he ran out of his regular art paper. It was late and all the stores were closed but Joao had to complete his work before the following day. A well traveled man, Joao had an abundance of maps in just about every jacket pocket. And so there began a new relationship with maps and a new series of works. Demand for Joao's works have grown since he accidentally discovered maps as his medium and I'm not surprised a bit.