Hello wanderer, welcome aboard !
It made sense to start from one of the very beginnings of my journey into the lifestyle Im currently living as a nomad artist, with my dog Umbra.
In December 2023 I decided to leave Portugal in my very first van Iveco Daily Basic, epic green color, fully transformed by me and my father into a very tiny house, no electricity. This decision was based on my wish to travel and learn more about this Japanese art of tying called Shibari. After learning and practicing in my country since 2019 to 2023 I felt restricted in the spectrum of my evolution, I craved for new forms of tying, for new perspectives, people to talk about this topic and most likely a community to grow together. Independent of the fact that Im a solo artist and I indeed do self-tie and performance alone It’s always been important for me to co-create, to share, to inspire and be inspired. This were the reasons that made me drive away from the place I called home and create home in any parking lot or peaceful forest. Barcelona suggestion arrived literally in a table coffee talk, where me and a friend discuss about living abroad while I was deeply considering to move into Berlin, we found it a bit too cold for a nomad to be comfortable, also the language is quite challenging to me… Relying on rope communities several artists from Spain have inspired me along the way, for example Alberto Noshibari who created a piece with a contemporary dance school, this piece was called Lucia and it got my heart and soul obsessed since the very first moment. My background on dance was making me explore new territories in ropes, as Movement in Restriction and I understood that Barcelona could be a cozy nest for this exploration and a gateway to many countries since it’s more central, and so it begins.
On October 2023 we started building my first van with mostly upcycled and reclaimed materials, it took us two months to finish it, and it looked endless, always a detail, always something to fix or rethink but to be honest… for me it’s a wonderful part of the process… creation, adjustment, enjoyment.
I drove around mostly in Spain and south France and stablished in Barcelona for 3 years now. The the fact that I didn’t had any rental or bill expenses allowed me to work and travel to other countries like Germany, Italy, Poland, Croatia, Thailand etc.
After a long time living off grid my needs started to claim a bit more comfort, electricity, hot running water, a fridge, a projector, a suspension point etc. and so this Summer, of 2025, when in Portugal for visiting my family and work, a friend come to ask me if I would be interested in selling my van cause he was really in love with it (indeed is a really cool one) and I asked him to give me sometime to think and look if I could find something more suitable for the upcoming trips and years ahead. And so I did, after some research and risky movements I found my new big lady, also Iveco Daily but a this time a Turbo Diesel with 4,5m where I could design a bedroom, living room, toilet with shower and kitchen. My staying in Portugal was longer than I expected but my duty was never bigger than my will so, in 1 month me, my father and my friends builded it from love, hope and a lot of work. It was a bliss to see the people I love creating this with me, building a home with our own hands, screw by screw, wood by wood… I learned so much and Im proud to say I know how to fix almost everything in my road house, because we made it from root.
On my design I decided to build everything in dark wood, black velvet and fury brown fabrics. I upgraded my Solar System to a 500W who can provide me energy to work from the van anywhere in the world. Also, we made hanging points for Bamboo and Suspension meaning that I can tie and practice in my little space. The final touch was to add a projector and screen that allow me to watch movies, give classes and do mapping on a suspended body if I wish to. It was a huge illusion to make this project grow, to know that this is how I want to live for the next years, in movement, in constant evolution. This little adventure I call life is a journey of the self, where you will find your path, your methods, maybe they won’t suit society, maybe they will reframe your visions… Everything was about trusting and allowing, myself, my heart and my art to spread wings and enjoy this journey called life.
Picture above is my first van, the epic green Iveco Daily Basic and down here some pictures of the building process on the new van Iveco Daily Turbo Diesel.
Let love be your guide and go get lost !
With mush love,
Amanita
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