On 27 June, opens at Saco Azul / Maus Hábitos in Porto, “F.A.U.X. — Fetish Amulets Under X”, the first solo exhibition by Ivan Hunga Garcia outside the performative realm of fashion. Curated by Sofia Tudela, the show will run until 25 July and offers a sensorial, provocative experience where art becomes body, matter, and gesture.

The exhibition brings together eleven human-scale objects that explore themes such as voyeurism, BDSM, and body politics, forming a visual narrative that invites audiences to engage ethically, aesthetically, and physically. At the core of the project is the innovative use of SCOBY — a biological membrane cultivated through kombucha fermentation — which the artist applies as a plant-based alternative to leather and synthetic materials, highlighting its potential as a living, fragile, and transformative substance.

In this project, Ivan Hunga Garcia deconstructs the traditional contexts of the catwalk and gallery, proposing a new exhibition lexicon in which the audience’s bodies are invited to take a stance — ethically, aesthetically, and physically — in relation to the objects. The result is a manifesto against aesthetic neutrality and the sterility of form: an invitation to sensorial, emotional, and psychic experience.

More than an exhibition, F.A.U.X. is a hybrid territory, where art can be touched, where the object can wear out, and where the body can find itself reflected.

IHG aka Ivan Hunga Garcia explores the limits of matter and form at the intersection of fashion, technology, and biology. A graduate in Fashion Design from ESAD Matosinhos, IHG practice combines technical experimentation with a sensorial and speculative discourse on the future of the body and clothing. In 2022, presented a pioneering investigation into SCOBY based biotextiles at ModaLisboa’s Sangue Novo competition, which became the launchpad for a series of performances and exhibitions within Lisbon Fashion Week and other artistic contexts. In 2024, his work expands further with the integration of mechatronics and electronics, consolidating a laboratory where regenerative design meets speculative textile devices. IHG currently lives and works in Porto, where he runs his fashion and textile exploration studio.

F.A.U.X — Fetish Amulets Under X
27 June – 25 July 2025
Saco Azul / Maus Hábitos
Rua Passos Manuel 178 – 4º
4000—382 Porto

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