PT / EN
Every year, Angolan artist Pedro Pires holds an open day where fellow artists, gallerists, collectors and collaborators gather in his atelier/workshop. This year we were invited to contribute a performance for the event.
For THE BEST OF MEAT we recorded various Lisbon Metro stations and perspectives in order to assemble a narrative simulating a subway ride to Abrunheira (vicinity near Sintra with low population density, difficult access and where the studio in question is located).
To reproduce the sound of such narrative we built a wagon of loudspeakers, mobile over a rail track designed using sound-reactive light-emitters extending from outside to inside the space. Promptly, we materialized a Metro carriage over the rail track as well, setting up four posts in a rectangle and ushering the audience inside the impromptu carriage.
A Metro ride to Abrunheira ensued, for a couple of minutes and during rush hour, with lights and sound providing context. We complemented the experience by swaying the carriage's posts and blaring with a megaphone snippets of the familiar female voice which keeps Metro passengers informed during their journeys.
Once the destination was reached the terminal station was announced, passengers got off the carriage, appetizers and drinks were served, and the Metro went on its way.