Formosa Decelerator creates an ambience that blends two typically Brazilian indigenous traditions: the popular practice of shamanism through curative herbs and the hammocks used by indigenous people to sleep. Enclosed by an octagonal wood structure, the sixteen hammocks here in Basel are an open invitation to relax (and, interestingly, the first Portuguese colonists associated the hammocks with laziness, believing the indigenous people wasted too much time in them). The eight-sided design is inspired by the figure used in Feng Shui as an ‘energy map’ and in Taoist cosmology to represent the fundamental principles of reality. It is a space of deceleration, channeling the creative power of chance encounters. The table in the middle of the structure has been set up so that one can create one’s own medicinal mix of herbs for a cup of tea.
OPAVIVARÁ! is an art collective founded in 2005 in Rio. Their Formosa Decelerator was specially conceived for the Taipei Biennial 2014, curated by Nicolas Bourraud, to evokes an atmosphere of sharing and contemplation: a chance to reflect on relationships created amongst strangers and friends alike.
