The project Monomitos was envisioned for the rose garden at the cultural center “Casa das Rosas” built by the famous Brazilian architect Francisco de Paula Ramos de Azevedo in 1928. “Boasting thirty rooms, a chapel, several courtyards and a rose garden to which the house owes its name, Azevedo chose to build this classic French style mansion along the stretch of real estate that was then home to most of the millionaire coffee barons of the day: the Avenida Paulista.”

Here, this rose garden, especially a sort of “imaginary gallery”, served as a framework for devising a site-specific performance, which incorporated elements from ritualistic practices and Jungian psychology, especially his vast study on mythology. Through gathering artists from different fields, the performance started from a collective manifesto:

Monomitos arose from the desire to reflect and search for the meaning and course of art in a highly technological and unpredictable world. For this discussion, certain myths – energies stemming from the collective subconscious – were chosen to enable an analysis of our times, especially through bringing forth personal transformation

Demeter (Greek goddess of fertility) representing the urge of preserving the environment

Tristan and Isolde (Celtic love story) touching upon human’s vulnerability

Shiva-Shakti (Indian gods of destruction and birth) pointing to spiritual dimension and transcendence and

 Brunnhilde (one of the Valkyries from the Nibelungen Ring Cycle) symbolising war.

Monomitos is a seed that is being sown, which aims to bring together more artists. The communication process should not be emptied! The game has already begun, with the art’s invisible forces coming into play.

Event Dates: 10.11 & 11.11.2001, Casa das Rosas, São Paulo, BR

Credits: Concept, Direction: Nathalie S. Fari / Performance: Glaucia Bittar, Fábio Norat, Nathalie Fari, Petra Schwarz, Thomas Schneesche / Music: Yuri Pinheiro, Luciano Sallun, Jorge Peňa / Costume: Cecília Echenique / Documentation: Luana Capobianco