Biography

 

Frederico Câmara is an award-winning Brazilian artist whose artistic and research practices are informed by his personal experiences of migration and travelling, as well as his fascination for Nature, Science, and sites of knowledge like museums, libraries, and archives. In his work, he revisits the role of the travelling artist and explorer, decolonising its historical antecedents with a contemporary approach to discovery, questioning the ideas of the familiar and the exotic, and promoting environmental awareness and sustainability. 

 

As a child, his first contact with images happened through the scientific illustrations and photos of Science books, encyclopedias, atlases, and scientific TV documentaries. The extraordinary voyages of Jules Verne and Carl Sagan, and the real expeditions of Jacques Cousteau and David Attenborough became some of the reasons why he is interested in Nature, its representations, and the idiosyncrasies of the world’s cultures. He uses this long-lasting fascination with the scientific image to investigate through Art our relations with Nature and culture.

 

His artistic research intersects with the Natural Sciences, Environmental Humanities, Visual Anthropology, Museum and Heritage Studies, Architecture, Design, Sculpture, and Drawing. His interests include the human perceptions and representations of Nature, migration and its influence in the definitions of identity, photography and travel as research methods, ethnographic methods, the practices of collecting and archiving in Art, vernacular design, cultural memory, and the preservation of heritage. He is also interested in the places where he lives as sources of ideas for his creative projects.  

 

His expertise is in Photography, Drawing, Artist’s Books, and Installation. His outputs are in the form of photographic and video installations, archives, artist’s books, drawings and text. He presents those outputs as artworks in exhibitions, as presentations in conferences, and as images and articles in academic and non-academic publications. His work has taken him around the world on artist residencies, research fellowships, and exhibitions; and he is the recipient of various prestigious awards.

 

Frederico Câmara was born in 1971 in Governador Valadares, Brazil.

 

 

Curriculum Vitae

 

Education

 

2018 PhD Fine Art, The University of Sydney / Sydney College of the Arts – Sydney, Australia

2004 MA Fine Art Distinction (A), University of the Arts London / Chelsea College of Art and Design – London, United Kingdom

1993 BFA – Printmaking, Escola de Belas Artes UFMG – Belo Horizonte, Brazil

 

Awards and Grants

 

2021 Richard E. Greenleaf Visiting Library Scholar Award, University of New Mexico – Albuquerque, USA

2017 HDR+ Student Grant, DVC Education Portfolio, The University of Sydney – Sydney, Australia

2016 PRSS / Postgraduate Research Support Scheme, The University of Sydney – Sydney, Australia

2015 PRSS / Postgraduate Research Support Scheme, The University of Sydney – Sydney, Australia

2014 PRSS / Postgraduate Research Support Scheme, The University of Sydney – Sydney, Australia

2014 USydIS / The University of Sydney International Scholarship – Sydney, Australia

2011 Funarte / National Foundation for the Art Award for Contemporary Art 2011 – Belo Horizonte, Brazil

2010 Brasil Arte Contemporânea Award / São Paulo Biennial Foundation – São Paulo, Brazil

2009 British Council Darwin Now Award – London, United Kingdom

2009 Pavilion Commissions – Leeds, United Kingdom

2006 Funarte / Minc Marcantonio Vilaça Award for the Visual Arts – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2006 Grants for Artists, Arts Council England – London, United Kingdom

2003 X Salao da Bahia – Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia – Salvador, Brazil

 

Fellowships and residencies

 

2021 Cité Internationale des Arts – Paris, France (Jul to Sep 2021)
2021 Hill End Artists in Residence Program – Hill End, Australia (Nov 2021)

2010 AA2A / London Metropolitan University – London, United Kingdom

2009 La Seine/ENSBA, Royal College of Art and Lasalle College of the Arts – Singapore

2006 Unesco Aschberg and Lademoen Kunstnerverksteder – Trondheim, Norway

2006 La Chambre Blanche – Quebec City, Canada

2005 Nordic Artists’ Centre Dalsåsen – Dale, Norway

2005 Henry Moore Institute – Leeds, United Kingdom

2003 Akademie Schloss Solitude – Stuttgart, Germany

2003 Fundacion Valparaiso – Mojacar, Spain

2001 The Banff Centre – Banff, Canada

2000 Vermont Studio Center – Johnston, USA

2000 Ox-Bow – Saugatuck, USA

 

Solo exhibitions

 

2012 Reserved for future need (Views of Paradise 2003 - 11), RMIT School of Art Galleries – Melbourne, Australia

2011 Views of Paradise - Brazil (part 1), Funarte MG – Belo Horizonte, Brazil

2010 Gallery 32, Embassy of Brazil – London, United Kingdom

2010 In an Ideal World. Pavilion Commissions – Leeds, United Kingdom

2006 Leeds (partival view), The Henry Moore Institute – Leeds, United Kingdom

2006 La Chambre Blanche – Quebec City, Canada

2006 babelkunst, Unesco Aschberg and Lademoen Kunstnerverksteder – Trondheim, Norway

2005 Landscapes, Galeria Noua – Bucharest, Romania

 

Selected group exhibitions

 

2020 Campos Interpostos, MAM Rio / Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2017 HDR Exhibition, SCA Galleries, The University of Sydney / Sydney College of the Arts – Sydney, Australia

2016 The 64th Blake Prize, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre – Sydney, Australia

2015 10th Bowness Photography Prize, Monash Gallery of Art / MGA Foundation – Melbourne, Australia

2015 GuatePhoto International Festival of Photography, Museo de Arte Moderno – Guatemala City, Guatemala

2015 Tactical Imaginary, SCA Galleries / The University of Sydney – Sydney, Australia

2012 Segue-se ver o que quisesse, Palacio das Artes / Clovis Salgado Foundation – Belo Horizonte, Brazil

2011 Contemporary Photography in the Collection of MAM Bahia Museum of Modern Art – Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

2010 Design of the In / Human, Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart – Stuttgart, Germany

2010 New Photography: Pavilion Commissions, Djanogly Art Gallery – Nottingham, United Kingdom

2010 One Century of Brazilian Art, Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection, MAM Museum of Modern Art – Salvador, Brazil

2010 The Seven Day Weekend, Ecole de Beaux Arts – Paris, France

2009 V.O.S.T., IMAL.ORG Center for Digital Cultures and Technology – Brussels, Belgium

2009 6 Degrees, Praxis Space, LASALLE College of the Arts – Singapore

2009 Sculpture from the Scrapyard, Leeds Art Gallery – Leeds, United Kingdom

2007 Leeds Art Gallery – Leeds, United Kingdom

2006 The Living's Easy, Flowers East Gallery – London, United Kingdom

2006 Cityscapes, ARCO'06 International Contemporary Art Fair – Madrid, Spain

2005 Orden y Correspondencia, Sala Gasco de Arte Contemporaneo – Santiago, Chile

2004 Phantasmen, Akademie Schloss Solitude – Stuttgart, Germany

2003 10 Salao da Bahia – MAM Bahia Museum of Modern Art – Salvador, Brazil

2003 14 Video Brasil – International Festival of Electronic Art – São Paulo, Brazil

2003 Rencontres Internationales – Paris, France and Berlin, Germany

2003 Moving Territories, Akademie Schloss Solitude and Merz Akademie – Stuttgart, Germany

2002 19 Kasseler Documentary Film and Video Festival – Kassel, Germany

2002 Arte: Sistemas e Redes, Museum of the Federal University of Ceará – Fortaleza, Brazil

2002 Salão Nacional Victor Meirelles, Santa Catarina Museum of Art – Florianópolis, Brazil

2002 Risíveis Humores, Athos Bulcão Gallery and Itaú Cultural Institute – Brasília, Brazil

2002 Rumos Visuais, Itaú Cultural Institute – São Paulo, Brazil