plastique fantastique envisions people living in bubbles for #stayout art performance

picture a dystopian society where people are urged to live outside in bubbles. that’s what plastique fantastique has imagined with ‘#stayout’, a performative art installation in berlin that mirrors and questions our habits as individuals in public.

in this hypothetical society, houses and air are contaminated so people must relocate to temporary, transparent structures outside. the familiar request of #stayhome during covid times is turned into the opposite: #stayout. 

the art performance took place from august 6-8 in front of the haus der statistik in berlin. the fictional infrastructure composed of seven pneumatic structures is inhabited by seven performers. inside the bubbles, the performers’ behavior swings between the repetition of their obsessions and the desire to break the rhythm of routine.

the combination of architecture and performance creates scenic spaces in which stereotypical behaviors are condensed into eccentric, obsessive movements. the artists reflect current sociopolitical tendencies and create dystopian to optimistic visions of our future.

with #stayout, plastique fantastique highlights current tensions in society, which on the one hand only arose with the coronavirus pandemic, and on the other hand, were simply brought to the surface and catalyzed by it. key themes include state and social control versus self-determination and freedom, rebalancing of private and public life, environmental change, the emergence of social role structures, the importance of physical proximity and distance, the tension between isolation and communication, between the individual and society. plastique fantastique encounters these topics playfully, sometimes parodically, and invites passersby and visitors to experience the scenario, to think their way around and to interact with the situation.

project info:

name: #stayout

concept, choreography, scenography: plastique fantastique / marco canevacci and yena young
dramaturgy: anna anderegg
performers: adaya berkovich, daniel brandl, maria de faria, karlotta frank, beatriz marco, valerie renay, mona sharifi, yena young
plastique fantastique team: jana aliyev, beatriz marco, julia lipinsky, sabrina pützer, carsten reit
text & press: sarah möller
soundscape: ohrpilot
photography: marco canevacci, johan planefeldt, alicja hoppel

thanks to: the haus der statistik in berlin

supported by: the NATIONALE PERFORMANCE NETZ – STEPPING OUT

funded by: the federal government commissioner for culture and media (bundesregierung für kultur und medien) as part of the NEUSTART KULTUR dance aid program

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.