Work Index




Filipe Paula Mendes


Art
Design
Art Direction
VR 
Immersion
Gaming

2018 to 2025
Lisbon
Portugal filipe.mendes@
workmail.com

This website showcases works from seven years of Art, Design, Data, and Interaction projects, spanning installations, crafts, and speculative narratives. The first section highlights three ongoing and recent projects.


2025             (001)1. Inner Landscapes.  A Unity-based virtual platform focused on the study of human-machine interaction and human behavioral research.
2024             (002)2. ConsonâncIA. An installation first presented at last year’s Metamersion - Healing Algorithms at the Champalimaud Foundation’s new center for digital therapeutics. It collects conversational data from a chatbot to offer a personalized tour of one’s emotional response to pain.
2024             (003)3. TTT at POGO.  A cycle of informal talks exploring perspectives on reality, featuring several invitees from various scientific and humanistic fields. During these recorded discussions, objects and virtual environments are designed in real-time, later to be exhibited at Pogo Teatro.  



The next section showcases four episodes from the exhibition cycle held in Lisbon and Caldas da Rainha. Although each episode was presented separately, they are all part of a larger project focused on human emotions and alternative digital narratives.


2024             (004)4. Post Seinfeld. The final episode of the cycle used the TV show Seinfeld as a backdrop for multidisciplinary explorations by various artists. In this show, I highlight a VR experience that allows visitors to immerse themselves in the otherworldly Seinfeld studio, offering a deep dive into its unique cinematic environment.
2023             (005)5. Human Park.  The third episode of the series immersed visitors as subjects in a Blade Runner-style narrative, placing them in a futuristic bar run by an AI entity.
2021             (006) 6. Stories to read on Sofas.  The first show of the cycle, inspired by a set of short stories sharing the same title as the exhibition, focused on everyday life during the pandemic. The key piece referenced here is a VR artwork inspired by the text 'From the Window of My Room' .
2022             (007)7. Phantom of Liberty. The second episode, set in a near-future bar, features a tech-savvy individual drunkenly watching himself lose track of time, with intense moments unfolding on stage.



Below is the record of three different events from the Art and Science exhibition cycle at the Champalimaud Foundation, a neuroscience and cancer research center based in Lisbon, Portugal. This cycle promotes art as a medium for exploring new forms of digital therapeutics and invites different artists each year to present their unique approaches to the topic.  


2022             (008)8. Metamersion / 1st Edition.  The first edition of the show featured a group of virtual portals designed to allow users to observe beyond their visual limits, using their head position to explore the space.
2023             (009)9. Metamersion / Hackathon.  A week-long collective exploration session that resulted in an interactive dancing cave system.
2023             (010)10. Metamersion / Latent Spaces.  The second edition of the cycle, where a company robot designed by the Hardware and Software Platform at the Champalimaud Foundation was first presented.



Next is a collection of projects, residencies, and exhibitions from recent years. These include collective exhibitions, social projects with children, and artistic and design-focused residency programs.


2022             (011)11. Existing Together / CLN 25.  An intimate personal piece, presented with Armazém 0 during Caldas Late Night 25, an annual art festival in Caldas da Rainha.
2024             (012)12. Project 1 / IADE.  A proof of concept for an individual session that explores visual representations of basic emotions felt, based on a brief interview.
2024             (013)13. SOTW / VR.  This social project transformed ceramic pieces into 3D assets to be used in a VR environment for children.
2020             (014)14. Rasto Magazine.  A prototype of a local art magazine created using a self-built pen plotter machine.
2020             (015)15. PDB 2020 / Young Curators LAB.  The result of a collective residency during the first edition of the Porto Design Biennale, focused on future realities, presented at Quinta de Santiago, Leça da Palmeira.
2018             (016)16. Paradisæa / LUX Frágil.  The result of several months of work for the 20th anniversary of the famous Lisbon nightclub LUX Frágil.
2024             (017)17. Terra da Fonte / Residency Programme.  Shots from the residency program with dancers, focused on body and image generation, hosted by Terra da Fonte.



Below is a selection of 3D virtual scenarios created over the past few years, highlighting worldbuilding, digital object creation, and rendering skills.


2024             (018)18. TBA / Foyer.  The proposal for the artistic occupation of Teatro do Bairro Alto, an important venue in Lisbon’s cultural scene, developed in collaboration with Ana Rita António.
2020             (019)19. Virtual Enviornment 1.  An exercise in material and light exploration, highlighting both rock and textile.
2020             (020)20. Virtual Enviornment 2.  A rendering and design exercise focused on domestic scenarios.
2020             (021)21. Virtual Enviornment 3. A collection of virtual scenarios showcasing the new products created for the Belgian company CASALIS.
2019             (022)22. Holoceno.  A collection of digital video animations created for an artistic installation focused on plastic usage.


This section showcases projects centered around crafts and the design process, reflecting the beginning of my career as a product designer and my skills in materials and technology.


2020             (023)23. Project SECLA Pt1. The use of plaster from defective molds. This project emerged during the exploration of ceramic materials, where the mold, in this case, is created randomly.
2020             (024)24. Project SECLA Pt2. The second part of this project was developed through several performance videos, filmed at SECLA’s premises, illustrating the process of filling molds with clay in faience (a technique practiced by the workers). In this case, however, the molds used were unconventional.
2019             (025)25. Analog Printing Pt1. It serves as an alternative to traditional pottery methods. This process follows the principles of plastic extrusion 3D printing but replaces all electrical technology with a minimal set of tools required to print ceramic material.
2020             (026)26. Analog Printing Pt2. This project followed the same principles of analog printing, but in this case, we tested the printing mechanism in a larger environment and replaced the manual operation with an automated power source.
2021             (027)27. Glassblow Serie. The first phase of material exploration for product design applications. An old wire mesh, typically used in construction, served as a mold, with the mass blown inside to form the shape.
2024-2025        (028)28. Aluminium Craft Workshops.  A series of photos documenting the results and processes from a number of workshops focused on aluminum melting sessions.


Finally, this section includes my current work as a hardware developer, highlighting my skills in product development and prototyping.


2020-2025        (029)29. CF / Hardware  Development.  A selection of devices developed over the past five years at the Hardware and Software Platform at the Champalimaud Research Center in Lisbon.


The presented works are driven by creativity and intention, rather than being focused on a specific field, technique, or medium. For more information, click here.




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