Meet Binau aka Bernardo
It was a casual and deep chat with Binau, a surreal graffiti artist and designer based in Lisbon, Portugal, who creates his own universe with his paintings and bursts his emotions through graffiti with his style and creativity. Unlike the others, he likes to remain in the shadows of the limelight, as he prefers not to disclose his identity.
@binauau Courtesy of the Artist.
He believes that his art should speak louder rather than who he is. Starting from humble beginnings, he studied fine arts in Porto and traveled around exploring and discovering his style and way of expression. He is spontaneous and gets inspired by the daily life around him and for every character he ‘summons’ his own ‘monsters’ from his “monster-verse”. His works are visually apprehending and intended to provoke thought and feelings, demonstrating his faith in the transformational potential of art.
Your art instigates a bit of humor and inspiration among viewers, what is your inspiration while creating a piece of art?
You know, inspirations are everywhere. It's in the stuff we see every day, the wild ideas we get, and just life doing its thing. It could be the smallest thing, but if you're tuned in, it'll hit you. People think I'm all about graffiti, but that wasn't my starting point. I had buddies who were into it, tagging walls and all, and I was there, kind of on the sidelines, soaking it all in. Watching them do their thing really got to me. I've always been the doodling type myself—back in school, my notebooks, desks, and even chairs weren't safe from my scribbles. Whenever class got dull, I'd find myself drawing whatever caught my eye.
You started from ground zero could you tell me how did you get into the artist’s life?
Well, it all started in Porto (Portugal). I was 17 when I decided to pursue Fine Arts in college. I spent three years there, and then I got the opportunity to join the Erasmus exchange program in Saint-Étienne, France. Life threw me a few curveballs that I needed to address. So, I returned to Lisbon with the intention of continuing my studies. But somewhere along the way, I started questioning if this path was truly meant for me. I realized that formal education wasn’t the only route to fulfilling my passion. So, I left school without completing the course and began working on personal projects. To support myself, I took on small jobs here and there. I’ve always been drawn to the raw expression of street art. I started experimenting with wall art and murals, trying to understand where my passion truly lay. Although I never became a regular on the street art scene, I did enjoy painting large-scale murals. But I wouldn’t label myself as a graffiti wall artist; I’m not out there tagging the streets. To be honest, it was in 2010 when I really began to focus on my art, developing my style and my craft. It’s been quite the adventure, and I’m excited to see where it takes me next.
Tell me more of the style you discovered and now that you follow it.
The style of my paintings is mostly with monster characters. I have created a mutant universe of sorts, with my art. My artworks are a fusion of dystopian monsters with humor and dark humor, with a bit of pop, and a bit of punk. This blend of styles forms my unique artistic style and expression. Essentially, it's my way of dealing with reality—by transforming the ugly, scary stuff into something less to be scared of, I invite us to face our fears and perhaps even make peace with them.
You spoke about your “monster-verse”, but what are your favorite themes and why always choose these monsters?
I like to draw characters that show different feelings and moods. I try to make them in a way that makes you feel something when you look at them. I’ve always done this, and I got the idea from watching cartoons. I call them characters because they’re like living things to me. They’re often monsters or something gross or disgusting or scary. But that’s because I and most of us grew up watching cartoons with all sorts of creatures, like in “Monsters, Inc.” or “Courage the Cowardly Dog” and other cartoons. Back in the 90s, the cartoons weren't any more like Disney, and started to be less cute and weirder and wilder, and that really stuck with me.
You create graffiti, your “dystopian realities” on other paintings, right? For example, like in the paintings from the Renaissance, why do you do it? Is it a sort of expressionism?
So, I never paint on an original painting. Instead, I take old-school prints and I work on them, I plot to twist them as I give them a new story. For me, it’s all about the emotions and the vibes I put into my art. It’s the best message you can transmit. Sometimes, I even hide little stories within the main picture, just for fun. These stories sometimes even have smaller stories within, but you need to be really careful to see them. The real deal is that painting is when I can truly be myself and feel free. I believe being able to do what you love and share that freedom and strength with others is really powerful. It’s all about expressing yourself and connecting with people through what you create. That's a beautiful message you can pass on.
Your paintings have also created some chaos among other exhibitors too, right? Well, how do you handle criticisms or a negative response?
Not really, once, I worked on a painting of Jesus Christ, and the gallery was worried because the city’s residents might be quite religious. They thought it might not be well-received. But I was determined to create my art without restrictions, as it was my freedom so we went ahead with it, and what’s even more interesting is the painting got sold that day itself.
Dealing with negative feedback is tough. It’s like a personal challenge because art is a part of who I am. But I’ve learned that not all criticism is bad. You have to listen and see if there’s something you can learn from it. If the critique doesn’t help you grow, it’s okay to ignore it. But if it does, then it’s worth considering. Positive feedback is meant to help and can be really valuable. I believe in taking what’s useful and letting go of what’s not. I take everything in a positive tone. I had this one amazing incident. So, I decided to paint a wall in Amoreiras, that is a graffiti wall, an illegal-legal wall. And I decided, ok, I'm going to make a piece here. One day I will do it. And I went there, I made the piece, everything ok, and the next day it was written on top “bosta”, which means “shit” in Portuguese. But I laughed so much, you know, because it was true, it really was bad. But I think it's healthy that you laugh about it. And even in this, in the streets, in graffiti, I think a guy needs to lay back because it's the street… The street belongs to everybody. It's like that. You will be crossed; you will be washed out. You can always do it again. You just need to chill a bit on that. So, I try to chill.
So, you are getting busier, when can we see your next exhibition?
Right now, I’m teaming up with three cool artists from our small studio. We’re all buzzing about putting together our very first exhibition this July to celebrate our studio, and that’s our first exhibition together. It’s going to be cool. The crew’s awesome, and we’re excited to share our art. I’m also linked up with this gallery in Lisbon, Oito Marvila. It’s this artist's space that started in 2019, and they’ve been super supportive, giving me tons of chances to get my works out there, for exhibitions and sales. But Oito Marvila isn’t just a gallery; it’s got a bit of everything. It used to be this huge warehouse, but now it’s this vibrant place with eateries, tattoo parlors, and designer boutiques, alongside the art. It’s a pretty happening spot.
You also are a designer, and you have also started a small clothing brand, of sorts, called Binauau, what’s your take on art and fashion?
I have always been inspired by fashion and aesthetics. And art and fashion do have the same roots, right? Fashion is also a form of art. I started making clothing as a way of promoting my art to the world. I’ve been making my own tees and jackets, even had a show in 2020 where I showed off my jacket designs, and people really liked it. I’ve got some friends in Ericeira, Portugal, who handle the printing for me. It’s not officially a brand or anything yet, just me getting into the merch game. At the moment, I sell everything via my Instagram handle @binauau. It’s going to make things simpler, having my own line of clothes along with my art. Sounds pretty awesome, right? But I’ve got to figure out how to expand it all because relying on art alone is tricky. Being an artist is hard, so I’m looking to diversify and find other stuff that can support me. He laughs and signs off.
@binauau Courtesy of the Artist.
