Lucas Levitan - My Work Sometimes Is A Way To Talk About The Mirror Of My Mind (An Artist Brazil - Creative Director and Illustrator)

Lucas Levitan is a Brazilian multimedia artist based in Madrid. He is an illustrator who loves photography. His humor and way to see the world is clearly understood on his latest project, Photo Invasion. In this project Levitan appropriates photography by strangers in Social Media and adds his illustrative touch. His quirky and whimsical intervention changes the narrative creating unexpected stories.

1. Tell us about your background and journey.

I work as creative director and art director in Advertising. My background is in graphic designing and art is my passion. I believe this fluid identity helps to see every project from a different and unique perspective.

I search for inspiration in everyday life and turns ordinary objects and scenes into intriguing images that sometimes take shape as illustration, animation, sculptures, installations or paintings.

I see the world with a little twist on reality. And by de-contextualizing them, I change the way they are perceived and engages the audience in a playful way.

2. How did you come up with this idea (Photo Invading) and going about executing it?

I started by illustrating my own pictures but after a while I thought it might be interesting to mix and match partnerships with other friends and photographers. Photo Invasion is a cross-over of two of my passions, illustration and photography.

I've chosen Instagram as a platform to hunt for my 'victims'. Instagram was perfect for what I wanted. A place people are willing to build connections and open to create partnerships with their photographs and my illustration.

It’s a different and playful way to see photography, always looking for an extra story beyond the one created by the photographer. From the first moment, it became like a game for me. I can spend hours searching for the next victim by visiting galleries, collecting photos and thinking about my next ‘invasion’.

I search for inspiration in everyday life and turn ordinary objects and scenes into intriguing images that sometimes take shape as illustration, sculptures, installations or paintings. I don’t have a rigid schedule, but I love the feeling of an organized mess.

Every morning I have a shower, prepare my coffee, and read a bit. Reading a few pages or chapters of a book in the morning sets the tone of the day and sets my mind to start working.

3. What does your work aim to say?

My dream is to do what I love. Many times I worked in things I couldn’t feel comfortable doing. Things that didn’t mean too much for me, neither for other people. I’d like to keep working in things that make me feel fulfilled and enjoy every moment of the process.

I found it with my art, now I try to stretch this living dream as much as I can.
Photo Invasion reflects my humor and my creativity like any other project, I think. I don’t like making jokes, I prefer when humor happens as part of an unexpected situation.

I would never be a good standup comedian for instance, I hate to think someone is expecting a joke from me. It’s too much responsibility. Better when surprises happen. I think this way the enjoyment of laughing is more genuine.

4. How does your work comment on current social or political issues?

My work transmits how I feel and how I see the world around me and lately I’ve been happy, so my work makes people laugh. Sometimes I worry about the future of the planet, so it’s reflected in a few of my illustrations. At the moment, I'm worried about the current Brazilian situation.

We've an incompetent president who is taking the country to a cliff. The president's negligence regarding to Covid-19 is responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of people. My work sometimes is a way to talk about it, it's a mirror of my mind.

5. How has your practice changed over time?

I have ambitions that change time-to-time giving me the chance to adapt and readjust my path. It gives me a sense of freedom and amplifies the chances of one day finding myself. My work also changes following the moment I'm living and my current thoughts.

Instagram gave me the chance to see the evolution of my drawing over time. I started the project Photo Invasion around 6 years ago and as I've been posting since then, I can see how my characters and sense of humor involves.

6. Who are your biggest influences?

I can tell you who are my influences. My heroes. People I’d love one day to meet.
I’m still a huge fan of Gary Larson, American cartoonist and Laerte, a Brazilian one. They are genius in finding stories in almost everything. And of course I have to mention Bill Waterson, Saul Steinberg and Quino. (note: not in order of importance)

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Website: www.lucaslevitan.com

Instagram: lucaslevitan

Interviewed by Pearlina Marie Rein K