Rafael Assef

Brazilian photographer Rafael Assef approaches the human body not only as subject, but as substrate. Using ink, tattoos, and even incisions, the artist draws geometric shapes resembling maps, graphs, and data points, on skin. Photographing these drawings, the artist transforms these often painful acts into abstract, two-dimensional compositions. Usually printed large in scale, Assef’s images confront the viewer with visceral abstractions that give the skin goosebumps.

Assef has held numerous solo exhibitions at Galeria Vermelho in Sâo Paulo, as well as Galeria Lunara, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, Centro Cultural Renato Russo, and Centro Cultural Solar do Barão, all of which are in Brazil. Group exhibitions include the Bienal do Fotografia de Lima 2014, Museu de Arte Moderna in Sâo Paulo, and Museu de Arte Contemporânea in Sao Paulo.