Doma: Multiverse
Argentine design collective Doma brought the street art scene to life in Buenos Aires in 1998 and watched as the public immersed themselves in their work. We speak to the collective about their fascination with reactions and their current exhibition at Galeria LOGO in Sáo Paulo, Brazil.
The Doma collective formed 15 years ago, developing through their shared experiences, travel and collaborations, while experimenting and improving their techniques and media they use. Mariano Barbieri, Julian Pablo Manzelli, Matias Vigliano, and Orilo Blandini are the members of the collective.
Their earlier work saw them focus on the concept of reactions, “every project we do, we get feedback and experiences that push us into a new direction.” This desire for feedback and interaction can be traced to the earlier days of their practice, when they were making street art in Buenos Aires in 1998. “When you work on the streets you really deal with reactions. Everybody and every kind of character from the whole society is involved, it’s really nothing to do with the experience in a museum or a gallery,” the collective says.
The Doma team work closely, ensuring all are involved and happy with the outcome of each piece. “Together, we talk and talk, sometimes too much. We aim to discuss each idea deeply to find the best concept and way of bringing it to life.” Together, the collective has created exhibitions in Buenos Aires, Berlin, New York, Barcelona and Canada. In May 2008, they opened Turbo gallery, aimed at fostering and promoting local artists, in addition to their own initiatives.
Inspired by the ‘multiverse theory’ that suggests the possible existence of parallel universes, Doma created the exhibition Multiverse which is being shown at Galeria LOGO in Sáo Paulo. Although the multiverse theory refers to human evolution, Doma appropriates it to put into play a unique perspective of contemporary social reality. “Multiverse presents a variety of situations that could take place in multiple universes. The exhibition talks about different issues of our contemporary world and society using humour through parody and absurd irony,” says the collective.
The body of the exhibition consists of a series of acrylic capsules containing small scenes that depict everyday life situations on a small scale. The scenes are entirely familiar: we see them daily in the newspapers, television, and Internet. At first glance, the tiny dolls and objects that play such ordinary scenes evoke a playful space; a closer look, however, reveals much more controversial and mysterious circumstances.
Multiverse is on display at Galeria LOGO in Sáo Paulo, Brazil until Saturday 17 May 2014.
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