Based on the concept of Omnitopia (coined by the scholar Andrew Wood) which in short, suggests a mix between “utopia” (not-place) and “heterotopia”, Nathalie S. Fari and Paula Marie Hildebrandt conducted a performance as research project to trace the contours of omnitopia in two specific cities: Berlin in Germany and Fortaleza in Brazil. By investigating the social behaviors and codes of communication in public spaces, the artists created a series of 12 postures – beach, cash, comfort, cocktail, deposit, fitness, rest, souvenir, sushi, taxi, tube or wifi – which they reenacted and documented in their roles as Sara and Paloma. While these postures intended to detour and twist certain everyday situations, each of them proposed a way to explore how places may become Omnitopia and how in turn, they may create public moments of meaningful interaction. To illustrate this, the artists released the postcard-series »Greetings from Omnitopia« and published a booklet in the style of a Brazilian “Cordelo”:

Cordelo_DIGITAL

Event Dates: May 2013, Month of Performance Art Berlin, Zentrum für Kunst und Urbanistik, Berlin, GE; September 2013, Lab Other Places, Forms and Formats in Performance, Fortaleza, BR.

Credits: Concept and Performance: Nathalie S. Fari & Paula Marie Hildebrandt / Photography: a.r.laub