Carla Castiajo

Carla Castiajo works across various artistic fields, using different materials to communicate her ideas. Each material possesses its own inherent attributes, cultural significance, and symbolic meanings, which in turn help create and establish unique dialogues.
In recent years, she has frequently used human hair as a medium. Hair, as a material, evokes diverse and often conflicting responses—both attraction and repulsion. Her goal is to harness hair as an expressive tool, one that reflects the complexities of contemporary life and transforms its inherent contradictions into productive meaning.

Carla Castiajo completed her PhD in 2016 at the Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn. She holds a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from Konstfack in Stockholm and a Bachelor’s degree in Art and Design from ESAD in Matosinhos, which she completed in 2003.
Currently, she teaches at Lusófona University in Porto and has previously lectured at universities across various countries. These include the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, the Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn, the College of Art and Design in Matosinhos, and the Beaconhouse National University (BNU) in Lahore.

Her work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, both nationally and internationally, in countries such as Portugal, Spain, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Mexico, Italy, China, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Israel.