[LIST_64]
Thursday, 11h June, 2026
[List_64]
Thursday, 11th June, 2026
[3] TATTOOED MUMMY
This 700-year-old Philippine fire mummy is one of the most fascinating examples of ancient human preservation and cultural expression. Discovered in the mountainous regions of Benguet, these mummies were created by the Ibaloi people using a unique fire-drying process that carefully preserved the body over centuries.
What makes this particular mummy even more striking is the presence of tattoos covering the body from head to toe. These tattoos were not merely decorative but held deep cultural, social, and spiritual meaning. In ancient Philippine societies, tattoos were a symbol of identity, bravery, status, and personal achievements. They were applied by hand using traditional tapping techniques, where natural pigments like charcoal were inserted into the skin using sharp tools such as thorns or bone instruments.
The process was painful and time-consuming, which made tattoos a sign of strength and endurance. In many cases, only respected individuals such as warriors, leaders, or elders had extensive tattoos, suggesting that this mummy may have been a person of importance within the community. Even after death, the tattoos remain visible due to the preservation method, offering a rare glimpse into the artistic and cultural practices of the past. The fire mummification process involved slowly drying the body over smoke and heat, which prevented decomposition and allowed the skin to retain its structure. As a result, details like tattoos, facial features, and posture have survived for hundreds of years. While the mummy’s appearance may seem intense or even unsettling today, it is actually a powerful representation of heritage, tradition, and human history.
It shows how ancient cultures used the body as a canvas to tell stories, mark achievements, and connect with their beliefs. Rather than something strange or frightening, this mummy stands as a reminder of a rich and meaningful tradition that continues to influence Filipino identity even today.
credits @anamikaknows
@heliobray x @l7matrix duo show at Because Art Matters
OPENING JUNE 6th (Sat.)
(18.30 - 22.00)
Lisbon, Portugal
[4] Echoes of motion
becauseartmatters.com
Sérgio was born in 1976 in Damaia, Portugal. Since the mid-1980s, he has been experimenting with spray cans on the walls of his neighbourhood. In the 1990s, as graffiti began to gain momentum in Portugal, he fully embraced the movement, quickly moving into large-scale works—murals in the districts of Amadora, Carcavelos, and other peripheral areas.
His work is distinguished by a profound interest in perspective and shadow. This fascination evolved in 2005 into what would become his signature style—anamorphic compositions painted on 90° corners, floor-to-wall surfaces, or multiple planes, creating optical illusions that appear to emerge from the wall. Over the years, each public intervention became an opportunity to test limits—technical, spatial, and contextual. For example, a mural in Setúbal, based on an old photograph, expanded into a twenty-metre-high painting incorporating shadows and newly imagined graphic elements.
Over the last decade, he has painted across numerous countries—from the United States to Sweden, from Indonesia to Australia—participating in festivals, exhibitions, and both public and corporate projects. Notable examples include a mural intervention at the Douro waterfront in Portugal; a corporate collaboration in Lisbon; a museum project in London; and interventions in Los Angeles, Stockholm, Almere, and many other locations (2022).
His professional vision is straightforward: each mural or canvas represents a challenge of presence—occupying space, capturing attention, and provoking reflection in the observer. What seems to float on the wall becomes form, shadow, and texture. Today, his work concerns not only the surfaces he paints but also the space between them—the process, context, and passage of time.
Sérgio “Odeith” lives and works in Lisbon, maintaining an intense connection between the urban and the studio, exterior and interior—two facets of the same movement, two forms of painting that constantly intersect.
[5]Odeith
photo credits: @indiecisivemoment
