Like one of those waves that catch you off guard and make you flip, this is how it has arrived Samuel of Savoy a Ibiza. This summer, the brazilian queer artist has been associated with Comme des Garçons Parfums to transform the central space of The silence –located in the beautiful Cala Molí– in dream land.
“I wanted to create a place where people would walk in and say wow! a world full of color and energy taken from my dreams but also connected with the nature that surrounds it”, says Samuel. And it is enough to set foot in this incredible universe to affirm that the young artist has more than achieved his goal. In addition, the immersive installation will also be the setting for El Silencio Inside, a pop up restaurant through which renowned chefs from the national and international scene will rotate.
But there is more: you cannot miss the pool area either, intervened by the artist Peter Terzini and the signature Nanushka , which also has its own corner in El Silencio!
Samuel of Saboia, author of 'Dreamland'.
At only 24 years old, Samuel of Savoy he has a passport full of stamps and a multitude of exhibitions behind him –New York, São Paulo, Zurich...–. One of his latest works has been the campaign for Zero, the new unisex fragrance from Comme des Garçons, held in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco with a 100% local team: “Some of them I've known since I was fifteen years old, others were my roommates… even my little brother participated!” says Samuel.
Formulated with fewer ingredients and in a fully recyclable bottle, Zero was born as a radical expression of simplicity, combining the maximum sensory effect and the minimum environmental impact. A return to the start through the fascinating gaze of Samuel de Saboia.
What better place to chat with him than in this dream world called dream land? There, guarded by the sea Mediterranean and because of the energy of his latest work, he opened his heart to us in an interview from which we left loaded with good vibes.
The El Silencio pool, intervened by Pietro Terzeni and Nanushka.
How would you describe your art?
For me, art is like an anagram: Love (love), review (dream in French) and temps (weather). This is my science when I'm creating. I use love to develop my art and I dream of the piece, it is part of my creative process. And of course the time part: the time to build the work, think about it, experience it, celebrate it.
Imagine, it is my work exposed to the world for many future generations and that work is also the result of pain, of war, of devastating situations for people like me: indigenous, immigrants, people of color, the queer community... That's why it's very important for me to celebrate it.
When I make a work, I enter a state of meditation. For me, working is a pleasure but I must be completely honest with myself. It is not linear, it is not easy to understand. I stand there and the person is free to understand and create his own narrative. It is also about creating a place of connection.
'Dreamland'.
Tell us about your first interaction with art, did you always know you wanted to be an artist?
Yes, I started to feel and see things in an artistic way since I was a child. My parents were priests, they worked in the church, the whole family has a very spiritual background. I was exposed to many visual and creative references since I was born.
An aunt of mine who was a painter and used to create hyperrealistic oil paintings, with many flowers. She passed away when I was ten years old and it was very intense for me. After this devastating news, I began to paint and learned to find beauty in chaos.
My first experience with art was a place of healing at some points and a place of confrontation in others. And finally it became a place of comfort, on my spiritual path. It is my way of communicating with God, with the world, my way of meditating, my way of being myself. It's about doing things in a way that pushes me in life and makes me happy.
It's something that was always there It is 100% of who I am as a person. the way I connect with things.
El Silencio pool (Ibiza).
Where do you find the inspiration to create your works and what is the process like? How long did it take you to make Dreamland?
One month! And a lot of neck pain ha ha.
As for the process, when I start a painting I have the images, the vision of the path, where I want to get to. The movement It is also very important to my world. One of the reasons my works are so large is because normally, when I paint, I usually dance around the work, I go from one side to another.
I see the world as a place of inspiration but much of the process comes from my inner world I take the time to understand what I am feeling, what I want to express. It is an inner search.
Samuel de Saboia and his obora 'Dreamland'.
Currently, Brazil is experiencing a complicated situation, how do you feel about it, do you think there is still hope? Is a change coming?
100%. One of the main characteristics of a Brazilian person is have that hope. the beauty of Brazil it is the beauty of what people imagine of him and the beauty that people make others experience. And this ability is not related to wealth, it is related to where you live.
Everyone who goes to Brazil feels that warmth, it is something natural, there is nothing false there. There is room for hope. The reason? The way we do things, because it is the way the country was built.
The country was built on the personal history of the Indigenous villages and then there are these intense encounters with people who arrived in a really devastated country. And even from these places of devastation and pain we can build beauty. No matter what happens, there is always another way, a creative solution, a way to imagine a brighter future. So I know there is hope. It's not something I think or believe, I know.
My existence is part of this hope, as well as the existence of other people who also dream and create. In our country there are conversations, things happen. There is a youth who thinks that this cannot continue like this, something has to change. We don't want the world to end, we want clean water, to have children and for them to live in peace, to be happy.
I am 24 years old and change is urgent for people like me. It is a need to make a world where we want to live. Do each job, each project, each creation, in a way that reflects my reality.
A corner of El Silencio (Ibiza) at dusk.
Your first exhibition outside of Brazil was in NY and it was impressive. How do you process pain and all those feelings through art?
beautiful wounds it was very intense six friends of mine passed away in a short interval of time, like in 5 or 6 months, they were victims of the transphobia and crime in Brazil. I remember that I went into almost a state of shock, like anesthesia. I didn't feel anything. I was 19 years old and settled in New York at 20.
I was painting for 3 or 4 months without stopping to save money and be able to make that trip. Once I got to NY there was still a lot of work to do. I accepted the challenge but it was very painful. It took me almost two months to make ten paintings, 2x2 meters. He worked 14 and 15 hours a day. When I finished, I didn't even know how to celebrate. We had a big party and all I wanted was to rest. We sold out and I managed to make my name known outside of Brazil.
'Dreamland', the new immersive installation by Samuel de Saboia.
Let's talk about Dreamland, what inspired you to create it and what do you want to convey with it?
Dreamland's first name was The Smiling Temple. I wanted to do something that came from a dream, from my inner world, but I was also very curious about creating a space that would connect with the movement of nature. I was inspired by Brazil, by psychedelia and I created this immersive world.
I was clear that I wanted to take over the entire space, the ceilings, the walls... everything. I wanted to create a world that people walk into and feel amazing in, become part of the narrative. I want people who come this far to take their time, sit back and contemplate. I'm lovin 'it that people take ownership of the experience and imagine how this was built.
Do you live here, in Ibiza?
I live right there. For me, Cala Molí is magical, It is not as crowded as other coves and other areas of the island. Here you still have all the hippie and vintage Ibiza of yesteryear.
This is the place where I take my time – lie down, go kayaking – but I also like to get out there and enjoy the whole island. I was born on the beach and when I'm here I feel at home.
How would you describe the island to your family or friends?
Here people are authentic: when he goes to a party he goes to a party. When he goes to rest, he goes to rest. But something that I have very clear is that, in Ibiza, people like people. Especially the locals, who have a great love for Ibiza. In my group of friends there are people of all ages, from 20 years old to 65... It is also an international community: Italy, Russia, Nigeria, Egypt, Brazil, United States... Is very pretty.
I also have my favorite bar nearby: can jordi –He says pointing to his own shirt, with the name of the bar–. I love mixing with local people, I learn many things. The people at Can Jordi are very extravagant and at the same time very simple.
What clubs or bars do you like the most?
I was at the opening of DC-10 and i loved it. I like it a lot Bedouin , a DJ who plays at Pacha. I also really like small bars and am curious to know Black Coffee, maybe this saturday.
The Silence (Ibiza).
Do you like Spanish gastronomy?
I have no problem with food. I like to eat, dine, have breakfast... Tapas, rice, padron peppers... I love Spanish food! But at the same time I really like beans from Brazil and I miss them. I miss the Brazilian food but at the same time, Ibiza is a place where you eat very well.
Any restaurant you can recommend us?
I'm lovin 'it The silence , of course. Also, in It's Xarcu the fantastic fish and the views too! I also like The Crazy Sardine , is close by and their tapas are delicious.
The best Italian food, in my opinion, is at a place downtown called The store . If you like sushi, definitely go to sushiya aoyama , where they prepare one of the best sushi I've ever tasted.
For breakfast, Passion.
Zero, the new fragrance from Comme des Garçons.
Any hidden place that you can share with us?
It's Canalette. You have to leave the car at the top, go down a path and enter nature until you reach this paradise. I also recommend my friend Jamina's vintage shop, Origins Ibiza . Of course, above any place, you have to go to Can Jordi.
Do you think art is a powerful tool to change the world and influence people?
art gives us a way of imagining and traveling to a place where things are limitless. It allows you to enter a space where the barriers of the world, the numbers, the economy... are unnecessary. you can transport to a new reality looking at a work of art, experiencing that work, immersing yourself in the life of an artist. Art can be a place of healing, a place where you can find yourself and it is also a place where you understand the power to connect with the environment and that there is a way things are.
Angela Davis used to say “I no longer accept the things that I cannot change; now I change the things that I cannot accept”. The artwork provides that. You have an idea and you are able to give it the shape you want. Once you find that and do it you also give others the possibility to do the same.
Music is something that led generations to a new place of freedom and existence, art does the same, fashion does the same, philosophy does the same. Every day we can choose these tools and use them to change everything.
Let's talk about Zero, what did you feel when they proposed the project to you?
I started crying on the other side of the screen. I was confined to Brazil for six months due to the pandemic, just after a while working in London. It was there that I received the news.
It's really funny because as a kid, I used to have pictures of Com campaigns in my room. I looked at those photos and said to myself: "One day I will be part of them." When it happened I could only exclaim: Here we go!
What campaign Creative Director, I decided I wanted to do it with a brazilian team, With people who have known me since I was 15 years old, with roommates, with my godmother, my little brother, dancers from my hometown...
Presentation party for 'Dreamland' at El Silencio Ibiza.
I am very happy with the result and the team at Comme des Garçons from Japan loved it!
If you could talk to Samuel from the past, to that boy who painted in his room, what would you say?
Actually, that's a conversation I've been having for a long time. Right now, I am experiencing things that I once dreamed of, wrote, thought about, painted... I look in the mirror and there is still something of that child somewhere.
I am very grateful to this child. And I know that he has a long way to go.
Cup of Couple.