The pandemic, wars, and the rise of generative AI—at the end of this paradigm shift, who will be the subject of our new history? Will it be the individual, the standardized collective called society, or something else…? This piece is the latest work by Brazil-based artist Alice Ripoll, an incisive critic of her country’s political and social contradictions. Featuring Cia. REC, a collective of dancers from the favelas, performers lay bodies and instincts bare in response to these questions.

Inorganic sound reverberates in the darkness. From innumerable black balloons that could be either atoms or the cells of some life-form, crawl out six bodies. Like waves, they surge and recede, seeking one another as they growl, touch, and intertwine. Celebrating the joy of being together with others and as a collective, they unleash the unique radiance of the individual. 　

The word adorno means adornment in Portuguese, but when broken down into syllables, it can also be read as “there is pain in the….” Could the shadow this casts over this festive elation be the disparity and division that continue to pervade society even after all our progress? Or perhaps it is the difficulty of living with our differences and the inner struggle that emerges therefrom?