2021 • Performance, book | A collection of works at the intersection of art, history and loneliness, meant to be performed in a contemporary art museum.
Missed-en-Abîme is a piece by Rogério Nuno Costa, consisting of a performance meant to be performed in a contemporary museum, a concept book Psicobiografia de um Herói Perdedor and a short film.
Missed-en-Abîme is based on a research project influenced by philosophy, literature, geography, and psychology at the intersection of art, history, and loneliness, which Rogério Nuno Costa has been working on since 2015. The structure of the show is a semi-biographical or semi-chronic text, referring to the critical rewriting of the hegemonic narrative of art history (post-Duchamp's Fountain) through a queer, non-normative lens.
Alongside the textual object as the performance's central element, it features commissioned audio-visual works: Portuguese visual artist Luís Lázaro Matos, Finnish sound artist Niko Skorpio, Finnish light designer Kristian Palmu and Portuguese art historians and pedagogues Andreia Coutinho and Maribel Mendes Sobreira (Colectivo FACA).
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For this project, I designed and illustrated a book, made some animations for the performance and translated text. I participated in the performances as an assistant in various venues, such as Serralves Contemporary Art Museum (Porto) and Museu Coleção Berardo (Lisbon).
Missed-en-Abîme premiered on September 12th, 2021, at the Serralves Contemporary Art Museum in Porto. The performance was featured in the 2023 edition of PT.23 - Portuguese Platform for Performing Arts, produced and organized by O Espaço do Tempo (Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal).
The book was showcased in the event Encontro Zine, organised by Apneia Colectiva, in Lisbon and at the Centre de Recherches Interdisciplinaires sur le Monde Lusophone, in Université Paris-Nanterre, France.
Missed-en-Abîme at Rogério Nuno Costa's website: https://www.rogerionunocosta.com/missed_en_abime
Illustration and design: Jani Nummela
Performance
Photo: Miguel Refresco
Photo: Jani Nummela
Photo: Alípio Padilha
Missed-en-Abîme
Creation, direction, edition, text & performance Rogério Nuno Costa
Production Inês Carvalho e Lemos
Painting Luís Lázaro Matos
Light design Kristian Palmu
Sound art Niko Skorpio
Movement dramaturgy Pie Kär
Graphic design, animations & assistance Jani Nummela
Workshop & dramaturgical consultancy Colectivo FACA (Andreia Coutinho & Maribel Sobreira)
Stage photography Miguel Refresco & Alípio Padilha
Chroma key consultancy Mário Jerónimo Negrão
Translation (French) Graça dos Santos
Translation (English) Francesca Rayner and Rogério Nuno Costa
Translation (Finnish) Jani Nummela
External eye Susana Otero
Sound recording assistance Vasco Rodrigues
Technical direction & operation (2022) João Pedro Fonseca & André Teixeira
Video footage Xavier Sousa/VINCO
Textual/visual contributions (Book) Alípio Padilha, Ana Rito & Hugo Barata, António Olaio, Colectivo FACA, David Pissarra, Eduarda Neves, Graça dos Santos, Jani Nummela, João Pedro Azul, Luís Lázaro Matos, Miguel Refresco, Rogério Nuno Costa.
Financial support República Portuguesa - Cultura/ Direção-Geral das Artes
Co-production Teatro Viriato (Viseu), MUDAS, Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Madeira (Funchal)
Mobility support TelepART - Instituto Iberoamericano de Finlandia
With the support of A Bela Associação (Almada), CAMPUS Paulo Cunha e Silva (Porto), Estrutura (Porto), Ballet Contemporâneo do Norte (Santa Maria da Feira), Teatro Feiticeiro do Norte (Funchal).
Residencies (research and creation) Rua das Gaivotas 6 (Lisbon), Là-Bas Studio/Kaapelitehdas (Helsinki), Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture (Espoo), Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris – Maison du Portugal (Paris), CAMPUS Paulo Cunha e Silva (Porto)
In-progress presentations Museum of Impossible Forms (Helsinki), Parfums de Lisbonne (Paris)
Tour Serralves Contemporary Art Museum (Porto, premiere), Festival Contradança (Covilhã), Festival Temps d’Images/Museu Coleção Berardo (Lisbon), Teatro Viriato/Festival END (Viseu), Teatro-Cine de Torres Vedras (Torres Vedras), Chão de Oliva/Festival Periferias (Sintra), MUDAS (Calheta, Madeira)
Missed-en-Abîme promo video by Jani Nummela. Sound by Niko Skorpio.
