Sandglass: "Afrosurrealism" with Leonel Piccardo

May, 14h 2021
Friday, 6pm CET
Kin 151

About Leonel Piccardo:

Leonel Piccardo’s interest in photography started when he moved to Amsterdam. Inspired by the moody-fairy-tale vibe of the city, he experienced what he himself calls “visual orgasms”. Leonel started his photographic journey by working on portraits and event photography. But purely capturing reality has never been the foremost interest of Leonel. Instead, he wanted to recreate the anime-like worlds he used to sketch as a child. So Leonel continued to follow his passion of creating photo-surrealistic scenes. However, his first artworks were not yet clicking with him.

That changed when Leonel started his journey of self-discovery. A journey ignited by embracing his natural Afro hair and unlearning judgment and past conditioning. Though still painful at times, he has been able to learn from the scars that have shaped him. Leonel began to recognize the patterns that shape the perceptions of his reality. “That’s how I became aware that when feeling anxious, my mind ‘glitches’ into worlds where my fears and weaknesses are free to be without judgment.”, he explains.

Ultimately, these glitches of surrealism allow him to turn his fears, fantasies, and desires into powerful and rich artworks. Leonel’s work has been exhibited at Black Queer Love - The Black Archives, OBA Amsterdam, Studio Flint, and The Wild at The Neverneverland.