Add Fuel

Tales From The Tiles

- Sasha Bogojev

DURING THESE GLOBALIZED YET STRONGLY DIVIDED times in which we live, it is necessary to be reminded of the traditions that can bring us together, as well as those that tear us apart. Blinded by modernization, progress and everything that comes along with it, one tends to forget the beauty and importance of heritage. Whether we're talking about small neighborhood communities or entire cultures, these specific traditions are too often trounced by mass, fleeting trends.

Exactly one decade ago, Diogo Machado, AKA Add Fuel, took it upon himself to point out just how quickly and easily cultures can get buried underneath these new rituals and iconography. Taking his native Portuguese culture as an endless source of inspiration, namely the well-known Azulejo tiles, he adapted the rich but pre-existing concepts and embedded them into universally understandable, symbolic language. Firmly attached to his roots, he modifies and embellishes, celebrating the beauty of multiculturalism and all the elements it has spawned; a precious concept much needed in the current climate.

Sasha Bogojev: What is Add Fuel?

Add Fuel: Add Fuel actually comes from a longer English expression, "Add Fuel To The Fire." Back in 2007, when I stopped doing graphic design and started as an illustrator, I was working with international brands. Actually, all the characters you see in my patterns, tiles and designs, come from the personal character universe I started drawing and developing back then. Anyways, Diogo Machado was very difficult to pronounce for non-Portuguese people, so I thought I needed to get an alias as something to represent me when working with international clients. This is why it sounds more like a brand name.

How did you come to choose that expression? It must have a special significance