victor
Sao Paulo, Brazil
32, Architect
“Architecture is an extension of who we are and how we recognize ourselves and how we assert our forms of belonging.”
Sumayya Vally, Architect
The Roads We Take
“I came here with my twin. He hated it here because he didn't like being away from our family. But I loved it here, and I never never thought of going back.”
“Even though I never thought about leaving overseas, as soon as I stepped out of the plane, I had a very, very clear goal in mind, which was my career. I think it was easier in the sense that I knew what I wanted, and it was a very direct thing.”
Faces of Australia
“From the first day I was here until now, I still find this country so amazing. I love it. I compare Australia to Brazil a lot, and I find Australian culture much more comfortable... People are much nicer, much more chill. When you live in a country that has a lot of people, competition can be overwhelming sometimes, and it's hard to find opportunities in a niche unless you really fight for it. Whereas in Australia, I find it much more comfortable that you can have a beautiful life without having to fight for it.”
“I have a really surface understanding of Australian history, I guess, but I always find it very interesting how Australians still look for a connection to the UK. A good example is King Charles being here this weekend, how many people interviewed him, and how many people still find that sort of thing relevant and important? Just seems so old-fashioned.”
“There is one thing that I recognise in Australia. I don't have a lot to compare with because I only lived in Brazil, but from listening to people from other countries and working with people from all over the world, I sense that the common denominator everyone thinks is nicer in Australia is really the respect to who we are as individuals. From what I heard so far, it's not everywhere that people respect you as a person instead of just being a number.”
“I think it depends. I've seen people mistreating certain cultures in public before. But I also felt that as Brazilians, we are very welcomed by everyone here. I think it has a lot to do with the way, we connect and smile. I think it depends on elements that you can easily recognise. Skin colour is one of them. When you look at someone and recognise the differences, you're scared of it, it's a very basic human thing. You tend to connect with people that look exactly like you. So you got to work towards connecting people that don't look like you.”
“I do like how Australians always seem to be very curious about events and things like that. They want to see what the hell is going on. Like going to the Ramadan markets. It's very specific to that culture, but everyone wants to go. Everyone should see what that's about. And when it comes to food, who doesn't like food?”
Building Connections
“I think any place you go there's already a culture established and people grew up in that place, they already have a group of friends. It will always be hard to break through and become a part of that. But I've never felt like people were trying to keep me at bay. I've always felt very included.”
“When you start to work at certain jobs, start your career, you always try to be a little bit careful. You have an image of how you should behave in a professional sense, or what you should do to make people like you. And the moment you realise you shouldn't care about what you should do should just be how you are, you become much more comfortable.
That's something I carried from Brazil, the idea that you need to be in a certain way to fit in society. I feel like that's not as strong here in Australia. I feel here who you are as a unique person is much more relevant than what you think you should be. I am not saying there's no social pressure here, but it's different, totally different.”
What It Means to Belong
“Yes, I feel I belong here. I think in a profession like architecture, if you really want to stand out, the profession helps me to feel like I belong here. We are creating places for people to live in, and I don't think there's a bigger way of belonging than trying to build places for people.”
“Comparing how I feel when I am walking on the streets here and when I was in Brazil, I'd never felt safe in Brazil. Whereas here I feel like the public realm is just an extension of my own house. In Brazil the outside is dangerous, so you can only really live inside your own house. And I understand that I was living in a bubble over there. Here I have a lot more access to a lot more things, and I think this sense of belonging comes from that. I feel safe being a part of this. I don't feel like anyone here wants to gain something from me. I don't feel like I always need to have my armour up, but that's how I felt in Brazil.
And again, that goes back to my profession because I see the city, I see the buildings, I see the parks, it's all so well done here.”
“A sense of belonging is internal, you carry it with you. I developed such a sense. I think it is because of a sense of belonging to the place, safety and feeling comfortable in the public realm, as much as I feel inside my house. It was something that always bugged me back in Brazil. I didn't feel comfortable dealing with anyone, because I've always had that understanding that you need to be careful with everyone. So I think it bugged me so much that when I came here, it was so different that it became such a strong symbol of why I like it so much here.”
“When I started to strip away the idea that I needed to be something other than just who I am, I understood much more why Australia seemed so happy. I sort of absorbed that easygoing of Australians.
Everything is changeable and movable. You can move around. You can choose to be whoever you want to be. So when I managed to get that idea absorbed, I think I became much happier and felt I was an Aussie. If you're in a place that provides the idea that you can have an amazing future, you would want to be there. You would want to engage with this place. You would want to provide as much as it provides to you. It feels like a nice trade-off.”
In Between Cultures
“My grandma passed away a few years ago, and the last time I was in Brazil, my family had already gone through her things. My mom kept a bunch of them. So I brought a bunch of things from my grandma, things that always reminded me of her. And this coffee set is one of them. I think it's so pretty.”
“When I go back there to visit, I just feel like it's not my place anymore.”
“I guess when you say Brazilian culture, I'm going to diverge that a little bit. Should we talk about family, because Brazil as a country, is very family oriented. Has a lot of influence from Latin places like Spain, and Italy, where the matriarch is the centre of the family, and everything revolves around the kitchen. Everything was around food. And that's my family. That's how we have always been.
So every time I'm cooking, I feel like I'm connected to my mom. I'm connected to how I grew up. Like the cakes I make or the care that comes through cooking for others. It's something that I always felt very strongly back home, and there's no reason why I should change that. So I kept carrying that with me.”
“There are a couple of things about Brazilians, like the smiling and socialising, even the hand gestures and the expressions. I learned over the last few years that I should not change that because that's what makes me unique.”
“I think this idea of a family being constantly together could be very toxic, and it stops people from growing. So again, I'm talking about my own perspective, my own bubble. In Brazil, you don't leave your house unless you get married, which means you're 35 when you leave your parents, even though you can afford it. Why would you do it? But it just means that you start being a person by yourself after you're 35. What is it like? And then I think it can be really toxic because people find themselves too late in life. If you don't have the opportunity to experience life on your own, and you jump from your parents to marriage, you miss a very important part of learning who you are.”
Art as a Bridge
“I think art is one of the things that most people have an idea of, of the avant-garde, of the stuff in museums, but not everyone understands that art is really small, art is something you live with every day. Art is an expression of our feelings. As humans, we are all the same. We all feel the same. We all strive for the same.”
“When I first moved in here, this was the first chance I got to decorate my own place without any sort of influence, this is all visual art. I think visual art is the way you dress. The way you write is visual art. The way you organise your desk. I see art in everything. Everything is designed. So I guess the more comfortable you feel expressing yourself, the more it makes you feel comfortable in your skin.”
“I think culture comes first. I think art is a reflection of culture. People might not even realise that something is art, choose something, and say, Oh, that's beautiful. When we think about Aboriginal culture, we learn how they pass stories down through generations. That is beautiful, right? That is art. The way you tell a story is art, but it wasn't born as art. It was born as a practical thing. They were trying. They didn't have writing, so it was a way to pass knowledge down. It became art because that's how humans connect with that information.”
“Societies would change depending on the culture inserted in it.”
“The whole idea of giving back. I think architecture is such a perfect way to give back. Architecture is a functional sculpture.”
Through Their Eyes
“This one, the big match, is an artwork. It's a sculpture by Brett Whiteley that sits on the grounds of the domain. It's just a big burned match with a full one next to it. The reason I chose it, it was one of the first sculptures, public sculptures, that I've seen in Australia. It was my first or second day walking around. and I noticed it. I thought it was so striking because it was so different. It is a big match, like, I don't think anyone can walk past it, and I thought, Oh, what the hell is that?
It's still there, 10 years later, and it's still celebrated as something beautiful, and it just really, really marked me and showed me how much Sydney cares about personal expression.”
“The second photo I took is food. It was just a meal. Food. It's just a meal that my mom would make at least two or three times a week. And every time I make it, I would feel warm and fuzzy.”
