Our object ‘Centipede’ from Antifurniture series is now on show at Parque Linear Bruno Covas in Sao Paulo.
This new park is located on the bank of Pinheiros river, connecting the city’s South and West zones. It is the perfect space for cycling — the track goes along the river bank. Park’s administration also collaborates with artists and provides space for public art. That is how our ‘Centipede’ has found its new home.
The object ‘Centipede’ from Antifurniture series was first shown in 2022 at Bienal do Mercosul. A joint project with performance artist Fyodor Pavlov-Andreevich, Antifurniture is a collection of furniture sculptures. These objects maintain the illusion of furniture when viewed from a distance, but any semblance of practicality fades away upon closer look. Visitors are welcome and encouraged to submit their bodies to the circumstances that the Antifurniture creates: objects that immediately transform into sculptures on first contact with the human body, testing its limits.
Antifurniture series consists of three pieces. ‘Centipede’ is the ladder for three people, ‘Procrustes’ is a rocking chair that makes one bend over instead of reclining back and ‘Lord Of The Fishes’ is an armchair that makes one twist the spine.
Here’s the instruction how to use ‘Centipede’:
- Please turn off your mobile device.
- Stand straight, release your thoughts and repeat slowly 7 times:
All of my fears remain in the past. - When you finish this mantra, please take a deep breath, put your body inside one of the floors of the sculpture, sitting so that your hands can grasp the ankles of the person above you. If you are sitting on the third level, please cross your hands over your chest so that your left elbow crosses over your right if you identify as a woman, or that your right elbow crosses over your left if you identify as a man. Make sure that each of your palms is resting on the opposite shoulder.
- Please breathe through your nose, deeply and evenly, while looking up and ahead, observing as your fears recede into the past one by one before your eyes.
- The minimum length of the ritual is 21 repetitions of the mantra “All my fears remain in the past.” For a longer and more reliable effect, remain inside the sculpture as long as you can.
- Since this sculpture is designed for three people to work together, decide in advance with your partners about how long you would like your ritual to last (the minimum length is 3 minutes). The priest(ess) will set a timer so that none of you will have to watch the time.
- When leaving the sculpture, do not touch your mobile device for at least several minutes, allowing the result of the ritual to take hold.