Photojournalist Alfredo Cunha, who took the most iconic images of the April 25 Revolution, has been immortalized by a panel of around 4,000 glazed tiles by Portuguese street artist, Alexandre Farto, aka Vhils.
The work, entitled "Honouring Those Who Work", is on display on the façade of Amadora Town Hall and represents a photograph taken by Alfredo during a demonstration in August 1975.
"This image shows a Sorefame worker at a unified demonstration in Lisbon, where there were several workers. I photographed him because I knew him from Amadora, and because he was wrapped in the flag. And I thought it was beautiful," said Alfredo Cunha, in an interview with SIC.
The photographer added: "On 25 April I lived in Amadora and it was at this station that I took the train to photograph the events of 25 April. It would never have occurred to me to be honoured in this way, with this panel by Vhils."
An exhibition by Alfredo Cunha also opened recently. Entitled "25 April 1974, Thursday", the space shows, through the lens of Alfredo Cunha's camera, some of the most emblematic moments of the 1974 revolution. The exhibition is part of the official commemorations of the 50th anniversary of 25 April, and has taken place in various parts of the city. You can currently visit the exhibition at the Artur Bual Municipal Gallery in Amador, with free admission until 23 June.
Vhils is considered one of the world's top street artists today. Since 2005, he has presented his work in over 30 countries around the world in solo and group exhibitions, site-specific art interventions, artistic events and projects in various contexts – from working with communities in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, to collaborations with reputed art institutions such as MAAT – Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (Lisbon), Contemporary Arts Center (Cincinnati), Le Centquatre-Paris (Paris), Centre Pompidou (Paris), CAFA Art Museum (Beijing), or the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (San Diego), among others.