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.

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

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

JOÃO PEDRO FONSECA

WORK

INFO

ZABRA