The man who falls in love with cigarette.

What is common in smoking and falling in love? When smoking, you need to make use of your mouth to work like a chimney. But how about falling in love? It is certainly best to have sweet words coming out from your mouth but to have sincerity is most important. Therefore, you certainly think that Mr. Carlos Marreiro is a man who falls in love with smoking with sincerity after you have seen his exhibition of “Some Smoky Stories”.

It was said that American Indians had the habit of smoking as long as some 3,500 years ago. In the 15th Century, Columbus besides discovered the new continent and the Indians, he also discovered tobacco. Nowadays smoking is so popular that no matter if you are a smoker or not, tobacco has a very close relationship with your daily life. We do not know when it becomes the modern important philosophy, poetry, novel and the gist, the theme and even a character of a drama.

In deed, in modern life, cigarette demonstrates its multiplicity and particularity of contradiction anytime around us. Of course those who grant these characteristics are we – human beings. Mr. Carlos Marreiro is a famous architect, painter, poet, creativity person, cat lover, a gourmet and a born perfectionist. Everything will be transformed to its utmost condition unknowingly with his touch.

For example, a very simple and ordinary pencil in this series will be transformed into a magic stick of life. With its continual sharpening, the body will disappear as the wood and pencil lead consume. Destiny is just like a cigarette butt which will be discarded when it cannot be shortened anymore. Another similar piece of work is a painting which is rather described as a manifesto: God’s pencil has no eraser!

In certain works the cigarette was transformed into an iron pen for criticizing current malpractice and human hypocrisy. For example: Many world famous sports are sponsored by tobacconists, but no one seems to care about the smoke that comes out from factory chimneys and the blasting smoke in the battlefield…

The lovely cats also go on stage for their master. Putting on their gorgeous imperial dress, each filling the corners of their mouths with a cigarette, they said like human, “I don’t give a damn of a kingdom…” This reminds us of the historical scene of the 16th Century when the French Ambassador in Portugal who presented the powdered tobacco as snuff to Queen Mother Catherine which cured her headache and specially the desolate gesture she made.

These works of fantasy were all drawn on the used account book which recorded all realistic daily expenditure like cash in hand, meals expenses, total consumption and the balance figures etc on every page. These as if reality irrelevant works of art were done with trivial items and figures…The artist expressed his passion and thorough understanding of the history of cigarette with his own smooth lines. The natural, free but exquisite brushwork had striking contrast with the well-disciplined account sheets which caused the design more prominent. His constrained imagination lead me doubt if the paint brush was connected directly to his brain and then he let it run with one breath until the ink dried up…Not to talk about using the eraser, there was not even time for any hesitation.

When you read “Some Smoky Stories”, you can listen to the lyrical dialogue of a smoker to his imaginary misty lover which is so affectionate that we, the non-smokers cannot understand. If you try to persuade him to quit smoking, the result would just be like when Juliet’s parents asked her to part with Romeo. Contradictory, their love grew stronger. The poem Chants Andalous of the Spanish poet Manuel Machado is the only echo for these works.

Life is a cigarette
Cinder, ash and fire
Some smoke it in a hurry
Others savour it

Undoubtedly, Mr. Marreiro must be an outstanding representative who savors life slowly and moreover, he expressed his absolute freedom for “love” with his unique talent even those who do not approve of smoking would appreciate his talent of creativity. As one of them, I naively hope that he would substitute his days with no smoking by just striking a match.