Arlindo Monteiro was born in Pernambuco in 1961 but has lived in Maceió for 25 years. He was lucky to be in the right place at the right time twice in his life. “Since I was a child I have drawn a lot, but I have done all sorts of jobs. On the way home I would see a sculptor working with wood. I would miss my lunch to watch him. One day I cut down a coconut tree, then I made a tool and used it to sculpt the head of Christ. And I managed to sell it. Those were hard times, but in 1989 and 1991 I took part in biennial exhibitions in Maceió and I started sculpting matches because of a dream I had. I dreamt of sculpting Christ in a matchstick. The following day I wasted almost an entire box of matches trying to get it right, but I showed it to a man and he bought it! He was a doctor who came back the next day to give me a metal pipe and a surgical cutter. From that day on I was never in need again. It was the tool I had always needed.”
His second lucky break was meeting the graphic designer Hans Donner, responsible for all the special effects of Brazil’s main TV station. “He saw my work, liked it, and used it in the opening scenes of a soap opera. That was it, I became a hit! I know people copy me now but my work is becoming more detailed, more complicated. An artist has to constantly better himself.”
ARLINDO MONTEIRO
WARRIOR
(folkloric character)
Matchsticks, acrylic paint,
2 cm tall
SAINT GEORGE
Matchsticks, acrylic paint,
4 cm tall
SUGAR CANE HARVEST
Matchsticks, acrylic paint,
4 cm tall
FISHERMAN,
(folkloric character)
Matchsticks, acrylic paint,
2 cm tall
COCONUT PICKER
(folkloric character)
Matchsticks, acrylic paint,
2 cm tall
WARRIOR
(folkloric character)
Matchsticks, acrylic paint,
2 cm tall
