Miguel Afa (1987) lives and works in Rio de Janeiro. He began his trajectory in 2021 in the streets and alleys of Complexo do Alemão through graffiti and attended the Escola de Belas Artes – UFRJ. His work interprets peripheral bodies, countering the unfavorable conditions to which they are submitted, and proposing another imagistic approach that amplifies the understanding of affection. At times, his paintings are delicate and full of sensitivity; at others, they carry direct political messages
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What his gaze captures gains a unique aura thanks to the colors he uses. His soft palette is a fundamental component of his compositions, deepening what is represented. Color is not naive—it is also discourse, a statement on the depicted scenes: for the artist, fading is a way to remind us of what is seen and what is made invisible.

Fuga (2025) evokes a scene from the film Moonlight (2016)—which also gives name to the series the work belongs to—in which the character, fleeing from other boys who chase him, runs not only out of fear but in search of himself. The dense twilight and use of earthy and bluish tones dissolve the figure’s contours, transforming the run into an almost spiritual gesture—a movement between violence and the desire to remain whole. The thick, nearly opaque landscape acts as an inner mirror: the environment merges with the body, and the act of running becomes one of silent resistance. Here, self-preservation is not only physical but existential—an attempt to protect what has yet to be named, a flash of survival in the face of erasure.

The work was shown in the exhibition Um céu para caber, the artist’s solo show at A Gentil Carioca gallery.