We all have different tastes in art, and when we like a piece of art it can be for many different reasons. Sometimes, it simply gives us pleasure to look at. Other times, it conveys a message that we believe to be important. Whatever the reason, we should be able to enjoy the art we like wherever we are and share it with others.

At Apolodorus our aim is to make art more accessible by incorporating it into people’s everyday lives. We therefore offer a range of items, from clothing and accessories to mugs and stationery, each printed with works by mixed media artist Helio Figueiredo.

For those who want something unique and personal to you, Helio will consult with you to create a bespoke work, such as a portrait of a loved one as a character in their favourite story. We will then provide you with the canvas along with any other items you would like it printed on.

Helio Figueiredo

Helio was born and raised in Portugal, along the coast from Lisbon in the town of Cascais. From a young age, he was fascinated by the ancient civilisations of the world, leading him to the University of Coimbra to study Archaeology. Following his graduation, Helio left Portugal for London in 2004 to pursue a Master’s in Cultural Heritage at University College London.

While at UCL, Helio fell in love with London and decided to stay after his course. Sadly, London life was too expensive for a broke Portuguese immigrant to follow a career in the notoriously underpaid field of archaeology. For a couple of years, he scraped by thanks to a variety of jobs in bars, museums and the like, before he unexpectedly found himself working in finance in the City.

Over the next decade, Helio built a career in the City doing work which sadly brought little pleasure. It did, however, pay enough to allow him to travel extensively in his holidays – a luxury out of reach to a child of refugee parents who had been forced to abandon everything to flee war-torn Angola shortly before Helio was born.

It was while Helio was travelling around the beautiful, historic cities of Europe that he discovered and developed a love of photography. After a while, his friends started asking him to take photos at their weddings and other big events. In the meantime, Helio was experimenting with taking and manipulating elements from multiple photos and videos, combining them, and overlaying digital brushstrokes via an iPad to create mixed media works of art.

Soon, people started asking Helio to create bespoke mixed media artworks as presents for their partners or children. Over time, the requests became more frequent and from further afield, through friends of friends or followers on Instagram. Finally, after a decade working in finance, Helio left his unloved career in the City in 2018 and to work full time as an artist. He launched Apolodorus with his husband, David, in 2020.