Cara Trancada is the artistic project of Carolina Gil Lourenço (b. 1995), a visual artist, illustrator, graphic designer, and tattoo artist based in Lisbon, Portugal. Since 2016, she has been creating bold, erotic art that focuses on relationships, intimacy, and vulnerability in the form of funny, provocative, and colorful artwork.
The name Cara Trancada — which translates roughly to "locked face" or "closed face" — serves as both a project and an alter-ego. It was born from Carolina's personal curiosity about her own sexuality, her relationship with herself and others, her body, her experiences, and her fantasies. The project rises from a need to deconstruct taboos around sexuality — particularly women's sexuality — and to challenge the notion that there should be anything "appropriate" or "well-behaved" when it comes to women or anyone else.
Carolina graduated as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer from ESAD.cr (Escola Superior de Artes e Design in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal). She finds inspiration in nature, day-to-day episodes, personal experiences, and ancient and classical depictions of women in art, as well as the female body itself. Her work seeks to represent the female body as a symbol of empowerment and sexuality — something inherent and natural. Through irony and humor, she aims to break barriers, question stigmas, and inspire and empower sexuality in daily life.
Cara Trancada is a one-person operation, and Carolina handles every aspect of the creative venture herself — from designing the artwork and creating the branding to building the website and online shop, fulfilling orders, screen printing apparel, and ensuring each piece reaches its buyer with care. Her work spans illustrations, prints, apparel, and tattoos.
Through her work as Cara Trancada, Carolina Gil Lourenço continues to challenge conventions, celebrate the female body, and create a space where sexuality is discussed with humor, honesty, and color.
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