2023, Portugal
Year: February - August 2023
Location: Idanha a Nova, Portugal
Client: Boom Festival
Role: Designer and builder, Art Team supervisor
Under the Theme Radical Love, at the request of the Department Managers, I developed five design concepts.
Quirky Ways of Love is the reinterpretation of the festival’s theme, by The Garden Village. It explores many facets of love, focusing on unconventional ways of expressing it and experiencing it.All the structures are partially made using recycled materials from previous editions, with the aim of reducing environmental impact and waste.
The main hubs structures consist of load-bearing bamboo frameworks from the 2022 Edition, while the new structures are built in wood. Both materials are selected for their low environmental impact.
Dimensions: ca. 7m x 5m x 6m (main structure, ramps excluded)
Materials: Bamboo of different dimensions, wood panels, plastic and bamboo rope, elastic rope, plastic, fabric, latex, velvet, acrylic paint.
Concept: An engaging structure that invites participants to enter and interact with the environment, creating traps, pathways, and physical constraints that make movement increasingly difficult and guided. A central element, the 2m latex and velvet Rose, that recall fragility, sensuality and resilience. Materials and forms reference Shibari and BDSM practices, exploring tension, restriction, and play within a controlled space.
The Rose was equipped with a mechanism that allowed it to move and “breathe” in rhythm with a heartbeat (recorded audio in the installation). Special thanks to Error-43 Studio for the mechanism.
Dimensions: ca. 6,5m x 3,5m x 6m
Materials: Bamboo of different dimensions, plywood panels, plastic and bamboo rope, acrylic glass, plastic, fabric, acrylic paint.
Concept: An enclosed space designed to feel both safe and observed, referencing voyeuristic dynamics as a consensual exchange of perspectives between the outside world and the inner room. Sliding doors, transparencies, hidden windows, microphones, and cameras create layered viewpoints and controlled visibility, blurring the boundary between intimacy and observation.
Dimensions: ca. 5m x 6m x 5m
Materials: Bamboo of different dimensions, synthetic rope and hemp rope, plywood, straw, wood, acrylic paint, gold leaf.
Concept: A human-scale birdcage installation that invites participants to inhabit the space while being watched from the outside, evoking themes of exhibitionism, vulnerability, and controlled exposure. Clean shapes, transparency, bamboo cane, rust and gold finishes create a Zen-like environment balancing intimacy and observation.
The natural materials blend with the surrounding space and interact with it, creating hypnotic sounds as the wind gently brushes against the loose bamboo curtains.
Dimensions of the total installation: variable dimensions
Materials: wood, metal, plywood panels, plastic, sponge, fabric, led light tubes, paint, various props and scene objects.
Concept: A playful conglomerate of structures inspired by a 1950's gas station. A “love refill” station that is part vanilla, part naïve, where color and whimsy take center stage. The installation features a suspended faux American diner, a small 1970s motel, and a massage wall—inviting visitors to recharge affection in a fun, surreal environment, playing all together.
Dimensions: ca. 7m x 4m x 10,5m Materials: wood, plywood panels, paint.
Concept: a portal dedicated to Venus, precisely positioned on the ground so that the planet aligns within the arch on the summer solstice—the festival’s opening day.
Flowing forms and warm colors evoke femininity and sacredness.