It is said that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. However, how accurate is the human eye, or even, what exactly is it looking for? In the 21st century, videos, internet, television and many other different sources of images compete to grab the attention of the public. As a consequence, real objects become more and more secondary. The concept of visual experience goes beyond the face-to-face situation, sometimes passing through more than one filter. Given this, can art compete in equal terms with the Media? What does it still have to offer an audience? According to Rafael Carneiro’s paintings, the answer has always been in our sights.

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Part of a generation that grew up with the evolution of screens, monitors and remotes, Rafael Carneiro is one of many who closely watched the digitalization of the material world and expresses this experience in his works. Based on images found on the internet and later turned into photographs, his oil paintings show the interior of industrial warehouses, factories and laboratories. The original images were captured by security cameras when there was no human presence. But when does protection become paranoia? Carneiro’s canvases have an aesthetic similar to some computer monitors and television screens: the image seems to be made of pixels, the colors are faded and the angle is impersonal. The tones used and the unstable look of the scenes resemble Luc Tuymans, while the process of transforming the image -- from photography to painting -- and its mystery aura evoke Gerhard Richter.

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The foggy and cold look of the paintings, as well as the idea of portraying environments usually unknown to most people, make the works seem even more distant. The fact that anyone could actually find online the images that inspired the paintings is part of the juxtaposition of realities the artist proposes. One can be either obsessed with the lives of others or focused exclusively on personal matters; the channels in between are often white noise. In Brazil, the lack of effective information and the excess of useless data is a three dimensional reality. Meanwhile, citizens see only what is convenient to their eyes, and pretend the rest is in a remote storage.

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What people erase from their memory or record in their mind sometimes can be out of control. Rafael Carneiro suggests that art is not only a vehicle of information, but also of inspiration and innovation. Through art, one can pause time for as long as desired, rewind to specific moments or look forward to new possibilities. In his famous book Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira (Blindness), José Saramago tells the story of a civilization that goes blind, as a metaphor for the substitution of values in today’s society. Similarly, Carneiro’s paintings critique the trivialization of images. He offers to the viewers a frame to re-evaluate contemporary standards. Press play for a different perspective and an original script.

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Rafael Carneiro presents a painting based on an Alfred Hitchcock’s scene. Although the artist’s main reason to produce the work was the aesthetic configuration of the original, it is impossible to ignore his cultural reference. Master of suspense and a Hollywood legend, Hitchcock seems to be the perfect choice to express social paranoia, not to mention the already implicit relation with the entertainment industry. The result is a strange-feel noir artwork in every aspect of it - physical and intellectual.