The housing crisis in Portugal is one of the most pressing issues affecting the country’s residents. With rising rents, many young Portuguese have emigrated to other European countries in search of the opportunity to build a home – a space that can, at the very least, hold themselves, a love, and a cat.
Faced with the impossibility of finding their own homes, with private and secure environments, the solution has often been to share spaces with others in the same situation. This has led to extreme scenarios: ten people sharing the same room or thirty people living in a single house, as reported in local news.
The lack of a private space, essential for the development of an autonomous sense of self and meaningful relationships, is further exacerbated by these conditions. Only foreigners from countries with stronger economic conditions are able to access their own housing, deepening existing inequalities.
This ongoing project consists of a series of posters and stickers that I’ve been distributing and posting on the streets – occupying spaces as a strategy to highlight and reinforce the issues affecting everyone.
The hybrid characters, with fancy shoes blending forms of plants and construction materials in a surrealist aesthetic, brings attention to the absurdity of the conditions brought about by the housing crisis.
This allegorical aesthetic serves as a bridge for dialogue, inviting the observer to approach, reflect, and engage in discussion. It’s an invitation for this message to become a catalyst for action in the political and social spheres.
