Ferida lluminosa

Not so long ago, the world was dark at night. It was illuminated by the stars, the moon and fires. After that, it was lit by candles and oil lamps, creating dim, tremulous light, and the night became filled with shadows and combustion. Even later came street lights lit with oil and gas, and city nights were filled with tiny points of light, as if the sky had fallen. After that came lightbulbs, lamps, torches, ceiling lights, car headlamps and theatre spotlights, as well as fluorescent lights inside fridges, classrooms, the corridors in the underground, petrol stations and hospital rooms, and the night filled with adjustable tiny but brash suns and moons. And next came cathode rays, LEDs, LCDs and Full HD, 4K resolution and retina display. The world is filling with luminous surfaces and lambent images, and the night has become incandescent forever more.

Ferida lluminosa [Light Wound] is a performative lecture that draws from literary, philosophical, historical and technological references to talk about the history of artificial light, taking the important role that electric light played in the 1929 International Expo on Montjuïc as a case study. Ferida lluminosa also explores the historical relations between the installation of electrical lighting and the Internet and current wireless technologies, which have created a 24/7 society that is always on, dissolving the boundaries between productive time and relaxation, between day and night.

This show is part of Unlock The City, a cultural regeneration project aimed at developing an integrated working method that combines scientific and design-oriented technical research with theatrical practice, making it a tool to trigger sustainable development processes to the post-pandemic city.

This project is part of the Europa Creativa