Expo'98, Lisboa

ACQUA MATRIX was a large scale outdoor multimedia show. JPF was both one of its authors (together with Alberto Lopes and Mário Carneiro) and its art director. Acqua Matrix stands as the biggest show ever set in Portugal with audience figures of around 6 millions total and some 300.000 just for the closing night. The show was in fact a big team work. The three authors ensured the project direction. The design was conducted by the Lisbon based company O Acaso, and the production and operation was due to the French company ECA2. The design team included among others: Mark Fisher (Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, U2): scenography; David Toop (collaborated with Brian Eno, John Zorn, Derek Bailey, etc): soundtrack; Christophe Bertonneaux: pyrotechnics; Charles Thompson & Alex Marashian (ex-editors of Benetton’s Colors Magazine): images; and the Portugues avantgard electronic musician Rafel Toral, who composed a”Boat Horns Overture” for the start of the show.

Project development:
November 1996 through May 1998

Project performance:
every night from May 21 to September 30 1998

Read article by David Toop