Brazilian-born, New York-based filmmaker Guilherme Marcondes’ animated shorts take viewers on surreal journeys through magical landscapes. I love his award-winning work, Tyger [above], inspired by the William Blake poem of the same name. In this film, the passing of a prowling, hand-puppet feline turns the human inhabitants of a large city into animals. As a dour family become chattering apes and peons at a bus stop are transformed into birds of all shapes and sizes, the viewer is reminded of the animality that lies, often repressed, at our human core. In his more recent short, a promo for the UK’s BBC2 featuring environmentalist Bruce Parry (2008), Marcondes once again tackles the nature/culture divide by creating a world in which an ‘exploitation machine’ devours human and animal life. His wry comment on consumerism is brought to brilliant life through the use of mechanical miniatures which are both creepy and aesthetically striking in their detail. I can’t wait to see his next work, the opening sequence for the forthcoming film, Bunraku, starring Demi Moore and Josh Hartnett.

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The work of Brazilian illustrator Pedro Franz is so vibrant, so enticingly positive, that I want to just reach in and borrow a bit of the color to help brighten my coffee-deprived New York morning.

Bernardo Bento is a 24 year-old Brazilian artist and designer whose work is bold and vibrant, colourful echoes of another time and place.

Inspired by surf and skate culture, Brazilian illustrator Apo Fousek brings some fresh brushes to the Latin American artspace. With emotionally loaded characters and lines, his drawings reflect a very particular vision of human beings and their environment. They are innocent and mature, causing deep reflections in the viewers mind.