Domingos Tótora

Domingos Tótora (1960-) was born and raised in Maria da Fé, a city in the mountainous region of Minas Gerais in Brazil. After studying design in São Paulo, Tótora returned to his home town and chose cardboard as the source material of his work that falls between art and design. The undulating landscapes, waterways, and rock formations of his surroundings inspire his life's work as a sculptor of curvilinear furniture and objects of art.

Nature is an essential part of Tótora’s aesthetic. Being true to nature means that imperfections are a welcome part of Tótora’s designs, embracing asymmetry and unevenness in the spirit of wabi-sabi. Following his studies in São Paulo, Tótora found inspiration on the streets in the form of discarded cardboards. Domingos Tótora' passion for nature and authenticity compelled him to conceive a fascinating and laborious process that emulates the cycle of life: he created a process in which cardboard can be recycled by breaking it down to small pieces, transforming it to cellulose plaster. With the addition of water, glue and natural pigments, the cardboard can be shaped into new forms. Through this sustainable process, waste cardboards are turned into a wood-like material.

Tótora and his small team believe sustainability happens through actions and not words. Through this process, he creates objects and sculptures where beauty is inseparable from function, lifting common everyday objects and injecting them with the spirit of the beautiful surroundings he grew up in.  Although Tótora’s team follows his designs closely, his creations are made by hand and inherently open for little imperfections and differences, purposely adding to the wabi-sabi aesthetic of the work. There may be no artist who demonstrates sustainability as wholly as Domingos Tótora. The sculptures, vessels, and furniture are both inspired and formed from earth, water, and sun; therefore, the masterworks have journeyed full circle, narrating the story of a sustainable earth without uttering a single word.

His studio, “Domingos Tótora Estúdio de Artes Design”, was founded in 2005 in his home town, Maria da Fé. The beauty of his work manifests itself in its philosophy of creation and respect for the environment. The production process of Tótora’s designs is 100% manual and the cardboard he uses is fully recycled. Domingos Tótora is a true mixture of artist, designer, and craftsman. In recent years, the originality and elegance of his creations have been recognized in several exhibitions. ~H.

Interesting literature:

Domingos Tótora, Maria Sonia Madureira de Pinho, Brazil, 2013