Lais Pontes

Laís Pontes was born in Fortaleza, Brazil. She is an interdisciplinary artist who currently lives and works in London. In 2011 she graduated from the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York, and in 2014 received a Masters of Fine Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). Pontes‘s artwork is a process of research into social media issues and concerns of our time. Using virtual platforms such as Facebook and Instagram as tools in the process of creation - in the same way as the camera and performance - she explores the impact of social media on identity construction and social perception. In her works, she invites viewers to experience, interact, and develop a critical view about social media and how it affects our lives. Pontes has been exhibiting her work worldwide. Her works were on display at Data Rush, NOORDERLICHT Photofestival (Groningen, The Netherlands, 2015), Rencontres Internationales de La Photographie (Gaspé, Canada, 2015), Take Ten at the International Center of Photography (New York, 2015), FotoFest Biennial (Houston, 2014), APG Exhibition (Atlanta, 2013), and 6th Arte Laguna Prize in Italy (2012), among others. Her work has been included in well-known magazines and blogs in South Korea, Spain, Italy, USA, Brazil and Mexico. These publications include El País, The Creators Project, Lenscratch, Itsliquid and PDN Pulse.Pontes has received numerous awards, including the London International Creative Competition Talent of the Year Award (2013); the PX3 Prix de la Photographie, (Paris, 2012), and the Filter Photo Juror’s Prize (Chicago, 2011).