METAVIOLENCE
In the near future, violence was eradicated by a viral contagion spread through the drug VIOL, which promised to suppress destructive instincts. Addicted to the substance, humans lost their natural defenses and, deprived of aggressive impulses, became fragile, vulnerable, teetering on the edge of extinction. The last survivors — the SHADEs — wander like specters, until their bodies inevitably collapse.
Machines, modified bodies, and biotech chimeras, immune to the virus, then assume a new role. Created to protect and serve, they discover in human fragility a field for experimentation. Through the METAVIOL device, they begin extracting patterns, memories, and gestures in an attempt to preserve what remains of the human — and to claim for themselves the greatest forbidden prize: the possibility of replicating not merely as technical copies, but as truly “living” entities.
Part of this project consisted of constructing a fictional pharmaceutical product called VIOL by www.metaviolence.com as a conceptual and performative intervention. The work extended beyond digital fabrication into the physical public space: I created a fully functioning website and disseminated posters throughout the city featuring cryptic visual language and QR codes. These materials deliberately mimicked the aesthetics and rhetoric of corporate pharmaceutical advertising, suggesting legitimacy while withholding clear information.
By posing as a company allegedly seeking volunteers for experimental testing, the project blurred the boundaries between reality and fiction, marketing and manipulation, trust and skepticism. The QR codes acted as gateways, drawing unsuspecting passersby into the narrative and forcing them to confront how easily authority, branding, and scientific language can manufacture credibility.
By posing as a company allegedly seeking volunteers for experimental testing, the project blurred the boundaries between reality and fiction, marketing and manipulation, trust and skepticism. The QR codes acted as gateways, drawing unsuspecting passersby into the narrative and forcing them to confront how easily authority, branding, and scientific language can manufacture credibility.
creation
João Pedro Fonseca
performers
João Pedro Fonseca, Carincur, Lua Carreira, João Bico
scenographic Design
João Pedro Fonseca
scenographic Production
Artworks
music
Carincur
light design
João Pedro Fonseca
texts
João Pedro Fonseca
voice over
Albano Jerónimo, Mariana Monteiro
costume Design
Afonso Afonso
João Pedro Fonseca
performers
João Pedro Fonseca, Carincur, Lua Carreira, João Bico
scenographic Design
João Pedro Fonseca
scenographic Production
Artworks
music
Carincur
light design
João Pedro Fonseca
texts
João Pedro Fonseca
voice over
Albano Jerónimo, Mariana Monteiro
costume Design
Afonso Afonso
research support and scientific consulting
Manuel Bogalheiro
video and sound operation
Joaquim Fernandes
lighting operation
Nuno Figueira
production
ZABRA – Center for Post-Human Art Research
co-Production
Teatro Ribeiro Conceição
support
DGArtes – Directorate-General for the Arts;
Ministry of Culture;
Fundação GDA;
CAMPUS Paulo Cunha e Silva
photography
António Ribeiro
partnerships
Artworks
Daslight
Manuel Bogalheiro
video and sound operation
Joaquim Fernandes
lighting operation
Nuno Figueira
production
ZABRA – Center for Post-Human Art Research
co-Production
Teatro Ribeiro Conceição
support
DGArtes – Directorate-General for the Arts;
Ministry of Culture;
Fundação GDA;
CAMPUS Paulo Cunha e Silva
photography
António Ribeiro
partnerships
Artworks
Daslight