Javier SWEDZKY

Project at the MaCI

January 2025 – March 2025
 

The project at MaCI  is "My Beautiful Family" and it has has three orientations: The first is a Theoretical Research aimed at developing the concept of “soft form” in puppet and object theater, which focuses on working without hierarchies and engaging with others in a time of glorification of individualism and private property. This will involve investigating its historical background and current state. The second orientation is the design of a scenic device: a dinner setting for a person accompanied by a "cast" of hyper-realistic medium-sized dolls constituting a family, questioning what is reality and what is fantasy, a prevalent inquiry in Argentine daily life. The third orientation is a Critical Methodology to establish a mode of operation with objectives including the abolition of theatrical hierarchies, revisiting authorship, exclusivity in roles, and the authority of direction; the construction of a common discourse that reflects unity and individuality; the appreciation of dialogue and exchange with diverse individuals to build a scenic narrative; and the use of puppets and objects as powerful instruments of communication and encounter, representing mediated and delegated theater.

Engaging in this project is particularly challenging in Argentina due to the destruction of spaces for reflection and creation nowadays. Therefore, it is crucial to have time, infrastructure, and means to reflect, systematize and design. The project has significant potential for projection, with flexible family configurations and economically feasible puppet creation around Latin America.

"My Beautiful Family" brings contemporary puppet and object theater into direct contact with the community, challenging one of the most important social institutions and establishing alternative viewpoints through collaborative networks and micro-actions.