Fantomat by Dritero Kasapi and Venelin Shurelov
Sweden and Bulgaria
Sculpture-installation, formed by seven “soul and slot machines” – humanoid sculptures with plasma screens for eyes that show humorous glimpses of the Black Sea landscape. Placed in public spaces, the Fantomats mark the citizens’ paths and reflect on an over-commercialized public space.
A project by Dritëro Kasapi, theatre director, writer and cultural initiator based in Sweden, and Venelin Shurelov, set designer and visual artist, who works with drawing, sculpture, installations and film, from Bulgaria.
Special appearance of the Fantomat in a one-to-one talk – 7 min, for max. 2 persons at a time
Co-Production: Via Pontica and Theatre Laboratory Sfumato (Bulgaria) and Intercult (Sweden).
Venelin Shurelov blogs on Fantomat
Fantomats on YouTube
Culturebase on Venelin Shurelov
Culturebase on Dritero Kasapi
Penny arcade culture in Skegness in England
The idea about the Fantomats was born in Skegness where the two artists wittnessed how almost the whole community (from all ages children to elderly) where possesed by the penny arcade culture. One person infront of one machine, doing repetitive motions, in silence, not communicating with other people.
Phantom and automat
The Fantomat is a machine that wants to be a human being. The name is coined from two words Phantom and Automat. Phantom means ”something apparently sensed but having no physical reality”, the automat gives this soul a body.
The machine’s raison d’être does not lie in its function or the information it provides. The Fantomat offers a human expereince meeting our need of contemplation and relaxation in order to experience something that connects to oneself. An offer that contrasts with the hectic urban life and commercialized public space.
Kasapi and Shurelov
Dritëro Kasapi is a theatre director, writer and cultural initiator. His work, produced and presented in many parts of Europe and the Balkans, often engages in a social and political dialogue and is always visual and theatrical.
Venelin Shurelov is a scenographer and visual artist. Shurelov’s leitmotif is the human body, its physical and spiritual path: motion versus immobility, suppleness, brittleness, fragility, interaction with constructions and inner emotional landscapes. Theatre and performance play a major role in his creative repertoire, which also includes drawing, sculpture, installations and film. Shurelov likes to get the public involved in his works, by disturbing their sense of routine, by questioning the mundane.
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