At a very young age, I had an experience that I consider important to understanding my development: my first internship at IPPUC, Curitiba's Institute for Urban Planning and Research.
I was approximately fifteen years old. I worked in two departments, first in Projects and later in Visual
Communication. It was an early introduction to planning, technical drawing, spatial organization and communication applied to the city.
Curitiba was experiencing an important period of urban transformation. Planning ideas developed during previous decades were becoming tangible projects that changed how people experienced and used the city.
Rua 24 Horas, parks, public spaces, transportation systems and urban facilities became part of a distinctive visual and cultural identity.
For someone interested in drawing, images and creative work, being close to that environment was an extraordinary learning opportunity.
Later, I worked in industrial design and drafting at Dan-Par Seikan do Brasil. It was a time before computers became commonplace in design offices. Drawing boards, technical ink, drafting instruments and lettering templates were part of everyday work.
That experience taught me something I still consider fundamental: an idea must find a way to exist in the world. Imagination is important, but designing requires method, precision, patience and the ability to execute.
Perhaps this relationship between thought and material has remained with me ever since.
When I work on a sculpture, there is also a design process. There is observation, intention, decision and transformation. The difference lies in the nature of the material and in the physical relationship with it.
My education did not happen only within spaces traditionally dedicated to the arts. The city, technical drawing, architecture and communication were also schools.
Curitiba was one of the first major references that shaped the way I see the world.
- Prefeitura de Curitiba — História do IPPUC — https://www.curitiba.pr.gov.br/noticias/elaboracao-do-plano-de-urbanismo-deu-origem-ao-ippuc/37313 Contexto do planejamento urbano de Curitiba.
- Instituto Jaime Lerner — https://www.institutojaimelerner.org/
Referências sobre projetos urbanos e Curitiba.