Post Oil Utopia

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Photograph of a female performer dressed in white against the white interior of a museum. She leans to one side with her right hand behind her head. The words “Museu do Amanhã” are visible on the wall. — Performance Auto-Organização, Museu do Amanhã, Rio-de-Janeiro, 2016

Post Oil Utopia is an art and research project by that addresses one of the major challenges of the 21st century: the depletion of fossil resources and the transition toward a post-petroleum society. The project examines the environmental, economic, and social consequences of global oil dependency while exploring alternative models based on bio-derived materials and sustainable innovation.

Developed through a collaboration between artists, scientists, and social scientist, Post Oil Utopia is inspired by cutting-edge research conducted by French chemists working on the replacement of petroleum-based products with environmentally friendly bio-derived materials. The project translates scientific investigations into artistic forms, making visible complex processes occurring at the molecular and nanoscale levels.

A particular focus of the research concerns societies whose economies are heavily dependent on oil production, including countries such as Kuwait. Through performances and visual installations, Post Oil Utopia explores possible futures beyond extractive economies and invites audiences to imagine new relationships between technology, resources, and sustainability.

The project was developed through a series of Interactive Performance Laboratory residencies. One of its major outcomes was a performative work presented at the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, where scientific models of self-organization and material transformation were translated into choreography and embodied experiences. Another iteration of the project was developed at the Museu do Amanhã in Rio de Janeiro, in collaboration with participants from the city's leading samba schools, exploring collective movement, cultural memory, and participatory performance through the lens of artistic and scientific research.

At the intersection of contemporary art, environmental research, and advanced materials science, Post Oil Utopia proposes a speculative vision of a world after oil, demonstrating how artistic imagination can contribute to public understanding of ecological transitions and technological innovation.