Art can bring attention to things people don’t see' | Mafalda d'Oliveira Martins Timestamp
- Andy McIlvain
- 7 hours ago
- 2 min read
Video from Timestamp
Art can bring attention to things people don’t see' | Mafalda d'Oliveira Martins Timestamp
"Mafalda d’Oliveira Martins (MOM) is a visual artist from Lisbon, Portugal whose practice explores people, relationships, social dynamics, and the invisible realities that shape human experience. Working primarily through painting and drawing, Martins has developed a body of work centered around observation, empathy, memory, and the connections that exist between individuals and communities.
From an early age, Mafalda was drawn to observing the world around her. She describes drawing as “a way of communicating, but also a way of processing reality,” a practice that began in childhood through her fascination with people and the stories behind them. Growing up painting alongside her father and later studying painting and drawing in Lisbon and Madrid, she developed a practice rooted in curiosity, technical exploration, and a desire to understand the human experience.
In this studio visit, Mafalda reflects on her journey as an artist and the role that people have always played within her work. “My work is about people. It’s about people, it’s for people,” she explains, a statement that captures the foundation of her practice. From observing people as a child to creating paintings that explore memory, identity, isolation, and connection, Mafalda uses art as a way of looking closer at the world around her.
Throughout the conversation, Mafalda discusses creativity, artistic identity, motherhood, technique, and the responsibility of creating work that connects with others. She reflects on how painting became a way to search for meaning, explaining, “I think I was trying to find the truth in my artworks” and that her goal has always been “trying to find the truth in painting.”
Her work often focuses on stories and experiences that remain unseen. Through projects exploring social realities, forgotten individuals, and human relationships, Mafalda believes that “there are a lot of social realities that are not really visible” and that art has the ability to bring attention to those experiences. Painting becomes a way to create connection, preserve stories, and encourage viewers to consider lives and perspectives beyond their own.
For Mafalda, creating is inseparable from understanding the world. “As long as there are people, it makes sense for me to paint them,” she explains. Whether portraying individuals, imagined figures, or collective experiences, her work seeks to uncover the humanity within everyday life and create space for reflection, empathy, and connection." from the video introduction
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