2006 – Parallel Paradises

Man moves through landscapes of language. All the environments that man has created are based on language, covered with signs, structured grammatically and at the service of the "meaning" of life.

If there is one paradise where nothing escapes the relentless codification of every single element of existence, it is the supermarket: the whole place oozes information. Each product contains all the details of its nature from different systems of knowledge: ingredients, nutritional values, commercial generic name of the product, specific name created by the manufacturer, branding information... Brands often have a subliminal meaning that symbolically refers to exotic, sophisticated or traditional instances, as do the colours and design of the label. We have prices, special discount tags, aisle signs, colour-coded areas. The structure of the space is also designed to convey meaning, to direct people instinctively to certain areas for each service or function.

The instinct of a lama is of no use in this environment. It belongs to the realm of the moor, the immediacy of the animal in nature, a drop of water in the sea.

There is another paradise in the imagination of civilisation, and it is at the other end of language. If the forest is frightening, it is because it is uncoded, it resists meaning. Only by destroying it can it be systematised.

Parapara is a disco dance trend with a specificity that is difficult to isolate and describe. It is a mystery what makes these synchronised movements, performed to the rhythm of the already rhythmic music, a little different from other dance styles in history. Perhaps it is that even if everything in it suggests that it has a precise meaning, the semantics of these movements are so codified that they only make sense in a very exclusive context. It may be that only "exclusivity" means "exclusivity", but surely sequences of actions, make-up, hairstyle or choice of clothes are there for something other than danger.

Like the digital and analogue worlds, these paradises exist in the same image, but do not allow themselves to be touched.