Infiltration

Beyond the Goal (detail of work in progress), oil on canvas, 200 cm x 150 cm

In the background of Infiltration lie the quarrels and divisions that encapsulate the complexity of human relationships.

The short story Infiltration adopts the format of a journalistic article, allowing for a detached analysis of human dissonances within the North Star Building . The journalistic genre reinforces the performative nature of human disputes, revealing how crises are simultaneously material and symbolic. In the background of Infiltration lie the quarrels and divisions that encapsulate the complexity of human relationships.

The creative process begins with words. Hundreds of terms connected by analogy to the concept of 'infiltration' were selected and explored through painting and writing. What can infiltrate? In both short stories and paintings, meanings continuously infiltrate, creating a dynamic interaction where images and words reflect and expand upon each other, summoning the ever-moving silence.

The Infiltration series (work in progress) explores subtle and often invisible influences that permeate structures, narratives, and human relationships. At the heart of the narrative is the iconic North Star building , a fictional self-sufficient water building, yet one weakened by internal tensions. When a problem threatens its structure, the solution adopted by its residents proves even more dangerous than the initial challenge itself. This metaphor reflects broader questions about the fragile dynamics that sustain social systems.

The intertwining of fictional narrative and painting in Anuk finds resonance in the work of Henry Darger (1892-1973). This artist combined complex stories with detailed images, accompanied by intricate texts. Like Darger, Anuk blurs the boundaries between visual and verbal metaphors, uniting literary and visual art to enrich the conceptual and aesthetic experience.

In the video We Need to Talk About Infiltration , the opening of a door is portrayed as an act of revelation and transformation. The pencil drawing of the door, with its visible lines and tactile organicity, intensifies the tension between control and chance. As the sliver of light widens, it dramatizes infiltration as both a material and metaphorical phenomenon. Light emerges as an ambiguous force: capable of revealing, but also of blinding with its excess, limiting the empty space — a precious territory of imagination.Here, the light that could symbolize progress also echoes the manipulation of words and intentions, reinforcing the ambiguity of ideas. The work invites the viewer to explore the nuances of infiltration — whether of light, knowledge, or hidden intentions — questioning whether what seems promising might not also be a device of dissonance. In this subtle movement, revelation does not always lead to clarity, but to the interval between the perceived and the concealed.

The work Eye to Eye explores the liminal zones between the visible and the hidden, expanding on the central concept of the Infiltração series. Starting from the idea that certain movements subtly penetrate solid structures, this piece evokes the meanings of terms analogous to infiltration, such as ‘to dive’ and ‘to soak.’ The girl who dives and takes photographs, reflected in the eyes of another person, is part of what she sees. This approach reinforces the essence of the series, proposing a reflection on what permeates and transforms in an almost imperceptible way.

In the work Beyond the Meta , from the Infiltração series, a man self-proclaimed as ASA (Anti-Social) embodies extreme individualism. His “bubble” is not a refuge but a denial of dialogue and the world’s complexity. The bubble-being imposes a reductionist vision, devoid of nuance, depth, or subtlety, in which the other is either compliance or negation. His incommunicability is a political power project—a slow, corrosive infiltration that undermines social bonds, paving the way for new orders. In this fictional work that merges painting and narrative, the ASA is not merely a character but an operator of trends , a behavioural exemplar. Within his bubble, a symbol of his rejection of the collective, his desire is to become—paradoxically and self-destructively—a model to be followed.