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| I
was born in Chilli in 1947 and, after travelling, working and living
in more than 50 countries, I arrived in Brazil in 1983. In 1990, I
started work on my major masterpiece which, little by little, turned
into the most original stairway in the world. It has 250 stairs and
is 125 metres long. In the beginning, everyone laughed at me I covered
the steps in green, blue and yellow tiles - the colours of the Brazilian
flag. As I worked, my profession changed from painter to sculptor,
my hands covered in blood, calluses, irritating and in pain. Even
though the work was difficult, I was passionate about it. |
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The
rent was late, the phone was cut but every time I succeeded in finding
some money, I bought materials and continued, obsessed and possessed.
I worked without rest and I stopped when I had no more material left. When that happened, I painted paintings to earn some money so that I would be able to continue my work. Since 1977, I have painted and drawn over 25,000 pregnant women, my choice of subject due to a past personal issue. I have already painted more than 300 tiles and I have put much of my life into my masterpiece. I have invented a fantastic unique technique which consists of constantly changing the tiles. This gives a unique energy, and makes it a living, mutating work of art with over 2000 different tiles, collected in over 60 different countries. |
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Interviews: National Geographic Channel (A '$100 Taxi
Ride') in Rio de Janeiro; Vox Tours (Germany); No Solo Musica
(Spain); as well as TV channels in France, Italy, England, Egypt
and Turkey. Commercials: American Express; Coca-cola; Fanta; Pepsi;
Kellogs Corn Flakes. Magazines: National Geographic (who called the stairway
the biggest scultpure in the world made by a single individual);
Wall Paper, Time, Elle Decoration (London); Dove (Milan); Playboy
Chicago (I'll never forget the day an American model posed nude
on my masterpiece); Voyage (France); Ragazza (Spain); Glamour;
Geo; Gala; Meridan; Lufthansa Magazine (Germany). |
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The tourists and travellers from all over the world who visit my work are very important, because they buy my paintings and postcards that enable me to continue my masterpiece - and they take my story with them to other lands. I always dream that each of them will send me a tile from their country to include in the stairway, a dream that I hope will become a reality. I am very grateful for all the couverage that the media in my new country Brazil has given me (particularly to TV Globo and the newspaper 'O Globo'), helping me to spread the word about my work. Many thanks to all of you Brazilians. 'THIS CRAZY AND UNIQUE DREAM WILL ONLY END ON THE DAY OF MY DEATH'. Selarón |