Samuel Vilanova
Flights like this last forever (2023)
Single-channel video, 13min, ceramic tiled bench
Investigating how religion, metaphor, myth and fantasy are used to tackle existential questions, Flights like this last forever examines the nature of contemporary existence through satire and comedy.
The film centres around the protagonist, a giant, and his two companions, who are all working towards what they believe to be their individual life quests. In an attempt to keep the balance of a semi-mythological world, the giant finds himself questioning his purpose in life. Tricked by an ancestral dealer sent by the Universe, they must all find new ways to navigate their existence. Sculptural works become props, unlocking a bridge between the physical world and the imaginary.
Credits:
Featuring Stuart Rayner, Lizzy Deacon, Coral Pryke-Syrett and Annie Brown
Saxophone by Frankie Brown
Samuel Vilanova is a Portuguese artist based in Margate, working across sculptures and paintings that usually exist as part of installations. His work develops from moods and scenes of a British everyday life, mixed with idyllic memories of a past in Portugal. Resulting in a familiar but also magical and foggy visual world, through which Vilanova explores alternative versions of the mundane and searches for an understanding of our condition.
He has recently had solo exhibitions at Outpost Gallery, Norwich (2022) and Quench Gallery, Margate (2021) and graduated from UCA Canterbury (BA Fine Art) in 2020.