By contemplating one’s metamorphosis due to a sudden, yet probably permanent change, “Bicho Do Ager” brings up an everlasting identity-driven dilemma. Are we the ants or the grasshoppers? The video captures a site-specific performance by Sasha Aleksandar and a light installation by Openfield Creative Lab and sound by Francisca Rocha Gonçalves created for the Jelsa Art Biennial 2021 at the 2000-year-old UNESCO heritage Mield Ager site on the Croatian isle of Hvar. Inspired by Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis and Gregor Samsa’s transformation into an Ungeziefer, the performance focuses on time and space as the basic dimensions of our existence and on the human tendency to seek explanations and adapt to the new conditions of being.

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Sasha Aleksandar is a London-based performing artist and the founder of “Mother & Fuckers”, a dance troupe that celebrates diversity, dance & club culture in theatrical settings. Sasha studied at the infamous St Martin’s College in London and was trained by Ohad Naharin’s Gaga movement. After working as a stylist and fashion art director for 20 years, producing immaculate editorials and catwalk extravaganza, Sasha shifted his focus to choreography, collaborating with Vera Alves on the “Alice in Wonderland” and “Peter Pan” musicals in Lisbon, Portugal, and on using the language of dance in multi-layered performance and art projects.

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Francisca Rocha Gonçalves is a researcher from Porto where she currently lives and works. She has a background in biosciences with a degree in Veterinary Medicine and a Multimedia Master in Interactive Music and Sound Design from the University of Porto. Combining her interests in sound, technology, art and science, she aims to raise environmental awareness in society through artistic practices and sound art. Her great passion for biology and music has led her to seek synergies between nature and sound. Bridging these two worlds, she attempts to find new sonic approaches, not only for musical compositions but also for live performances. She co-founded the artistic collective Openfield Creative Lab and the Ocean Soundscape Awareness project – ØSAW.

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Founded in 2015 by five local artists from Porto, Portugal, Openfield Lab sets out to explore the powerful combination of art and technology to deliver fresh and immersive experiences. As of today, the team at Openfield has come together to create a wide range of interactive and performance-based media artwork that has helped shape how audiences perceive artistic experiences in both public and private spaces. Furthermore, the physical space where Openfield operates (a.k.a. the Lab) is an ideal venue to build collaborations with other creators, in the form of workshops, talks, performances and exhibitions.

Openfield is: Francisca Rocha Gonçalves, Ivo Teixeira, Nuno Alves de Carvalho, Rodrigo Carvalho and Tiago Rocha.

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https://openfield-creativelab.com