Artists

Natalino-dos-Reis-PiresGibraelMariAze-with-Lafaek

Sergio-da-CostaAje Atoy-Suai-LoroRIUS (awaiting photo)

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Top Left: Natalino (Anata) dos Reis Pires is an accomplished senior artist in residence in Arte Moris in Dili the Free Art School. Natalino who is from Suai Loro, the seaside village by Suai, moved to Dili in 2003 when he became a resident at Arte Moris http://www.artemoris.tp/.

Natalino’s paintings are selling into the international market and will soon be represented in the Art Asia Pacific Magazine’s Annual Almanac published in New York.

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Top Centre: Gibrael is an artist living and working at Arte Moris. His work dating back to includes

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Top Right: Mariano (Mari) was born in 1988. He started to paint in Junior High School in 2000 and decided to continue his art education in 2003. His early ambition was to be a doctor but later found he wanted to be an artist and teach art. He was a senior artist of Arte Moris in 2004 and continues to live there.

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Bottom Left: Sergio da Costa’s presence in Suai became apparent to the writer through his prolific use of public space in Suai for painting. His early self-portraits leave the viewer in no doubt about the affect of the trauma in 1999 on him. During emergency phase 1999- 2002 the presence of the UN and hundreds of NGO personnel provided a ready market for his work, as well as friends who helped him buy materials. Independent and self-taught Sergio has resisted the call of Dili and Arte Moris where he could join a larger community of artists, preferring to stay in Suai with friends and family. He is still finding buyers in Suai and getting commissioned work.

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Bottom Centre: is Aje. Aje has been living and working at Arte Moris since. The work presented here is mainly in carving.

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Bottom Right: Atoy lives and works in Suai Loro which is a large village right on the flood plans next to the Timor Sea. Atoy has a severe physical handicap that means he is dependent upon others for mobility.  Sergio introduced Atoy to me in June 2008, when the Friends of Suai invited artists in Suai to paint self-portraits for an exhibition of youth self-portraits in the St Kilda Town Hall Gallery later alongside St Kilda High School and Primary School childrens’ self-portraits. He sold two works to visiting friends from Port Phillip.

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(We are waiting on further information about the other artists. Ed.)