Cie 1er Stratagème

I’ve Never Done This Before
 

In a very light way, as in a production for children, Barbara Matijević evokes fundamental topics.

─European Stage

They are part of the effervescence of the theater today. In the face of the digital turn, this art is inventing new, radically unbounded forms.

─Art press, Paris

I’ve Never Done This Before – the universal ‘rider’ to innumerable DIY videos online…

─Fondation d’entreprise Hermès New Settings #5
 

In 2006, the year in which YouTube was launched, Time magazine declared "You" Person of the Year. The development of social media over the past decade has transformed people’s lives and changed the way they go about understanding the world.

I’ve Never Done This Before focuses on the world of do-it-yourself, generating narratives and revealing unexpected aesthetics. Barbara Matijević and Giuseppe Chico have discovered strategies for interpreting the world through handmade objects. The driving force of this performance is the interaction between performer and the different technological devices on the stage, inspired by the ingenuity of YouTube amateurs. A direct confrontation develops between amateur DIY videos and contemporary art aesthetics. The goal is to accompany the audience on an exploration of amateur culture and its role in the construction of new metaphors, not literary figures of speech, but rather vital elements in the conceptual mapping of our daily lives.

Barbara Matijević, Concept and Performer

Born in Croatia in 1978, Barbara Matijević studied literature at the Faculty of Arts in Zagreb and dance at the Hypaxis Dance Centre in the US and the International Centre for Contemporary Dance and Performance Art. She has worked with a variety of artists including choreographers, directors, dancers and photographers. Matijević also served as assistant to Jan Fabre. She has taught dance at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Art in Osijek (Croatia), and has collaborated with Giuseppe Chico since 2008.

 

Giuseppe Chico, Concept

Born in Italy in 1974, Giuseppe Chico studied ancient languages and started working in theater at an early age. He has also had experience as a set designer. After studying theater in Rome and Milan, Chico moved to Paris in 2000 and began to train in contemporary dance. He danced with the company Mille Plateaux Associés for several years. In 2007, he performed in Purgatory, written and directed by Joris Lacoste.

 

Production, Cie 1er Stratagème

Founded by Barbara Matijević and Giuseppe Chico in 2008, its works mostly focus on the relationship between humans and media technology. In 2011, Forecasting, which inspired I’ve Never Done This Before, was based on interactions between a performer and selected YouTube videos to investigate the phenomenon of online content generation.

Concept/ Giuseppe Chico, Barbara Matijević

Performer/ Barbara Matijević

Technical Supervision and Artistic Collaboration/ Ivan Marušić Klif

Technical Assistance, Programming/ Igor Brkic, Igor Petrovic

Collaboration in Animatronics/ Matthieu Schönholzer

Object Design/ Ivan Marušić Klif, Giuseppe Chico

Light/ Melchior Delaunay

Sound/ Viktor Krasnic

Production/ Cie 1er Stratagème, Cie Omnibus

Coproduction/ Cie Omnibus (Zagreb); Kaaitheater (Bruxelles); Ménagerie de verre (Paris)

Supported by Fondation Hermès as part of its program New Settings; DRAC Ile-de-France; DICRéAM; Croatian Ministry of Culture

Residency/ Parc de la Villette (Paris); Museum of Contemporary Art (Zagreb)