Profile | CV

Rikii Altamirano is a visual artist and expanded photographer from Timor Leste, currently based in Bristol in the southwest of England. Having begun his professional practice in 2022, he built a strong early foundation in pure documentary photography. His academic progression, starting with a Bachelor of Arts in Photography at the University of Plymouth and advancing to a Master of Arts in Fine Art Photography at UWE Bristol, prompted a definitive shift in his methodology. Moving completely beyond the flat digital image, his current practice explores Timorese identity and belonging in the post independence era, focusing primarily on the diaspora living in the United Kingdom.

Altamirano constructs highly intentional narratives that challenge how his community is represented online. He actively confronts how the digital noise of fleeting street violence often gains more favour from social media algorithms than the true lived reality of the Timorese people. To counter this, he treats the photograph as a sculptural material. Using the needle and the blade as tools of resistance, he manually cuts, stitches and weaves heavy archival prints. This tactile manual labour is deeply rooted in his Timorese cultural heritage, drawing direct inspiration from traditional woven practices to create a deliberate gesture of repair. By physically intervening with the paper, he resists transient digital noise and transforms temporary documentary fragments into permanent physical archives.

This evolution from traditional observation to expanded physical photography has established his distinct voice in contemporary art and attracted significant industry recognition across both phases of his career. His early documentary work earned him a place as a Portrait of Britain winner in 2025 and secured third place in the self published book category at the International Photography Awards in the same year. More recently, his tactile and woven interventions have gained entirely new critical acclaim, leading to his selection as an Association of Photographers Finalist in 2026. This expanded practice has also earned an honourable mention by FotoSlovo in 2026, alongside being shortlisted by both the National Gallery London and the Royal Photographic Society in 2026.

His unique physical interventions have resonated on a global scale, leading to his work being exhibited internationally across Australia, Italy and the United Kingdom. Ultimately, his work is an act of material play and rebellion, mending fractured narratives to protect a genuine cultural history and drive crucial discussions about the Timorese diaspora into the future.