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acoocooro
2019

cdmx
+52 1 (55) 2653·8820

puebla
+52 1 (22) 2217·9442

acoocooro.mx
martin@acoocooro.mx
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 UTALITARIAN OBJECTS,
MUSIC, RITUALS
& CONCHEROS

VENICE DESIGN 2019

acoocooro

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 Venice design is the largest
design exhibition running
alongside La Biennale di Ven-
ezia. It is an international
platform for design investi-
gation, contemporary muta-
tions, and innovative creative
attitudes. For its fourth con-
secutive year, the exhibition
will be hosted by the Euro-
pean Cultural Centre in the
historical location of Palazzo
Michiel, a beautiful palazzo lo-
cated in the Canal Grande, 250
meters from the Rialto Bridge.
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The European Cultural Cen-
tre is the host of Venice De-
sign. It is a platform which
provides the conditions to
invite artistic and creative
practices. It is a place to in-
vestigate the most vital con-
temporary issues in order to
design a shared future. Its ac-
tivities include organising art
events, exhibitions, tranings,
lectures, public debates and
symposiums, hosting creative
professionals and providing
research assistance.
The GAA Foundation is
a non-profit organisation
which aims to raise awareness
about the more philosophical
themes in contemporary art.
In order to achieve this goal,
the GAA Foundation organ-
ises exhibitions, symposia and
publishes art editions.
For further information, visit:
www.ecc-italy.eu
www.gaafoundation.org
 Invited to participate in Ven-
ice Design 2019, after its par-
ticipation in WantedDesign
2018 and Design Week Mex-
ico, acooocooro has designed
a series of objects, inspired
by the old Mexican ceremony
known as concheros, its sounds,
its mystique, and its artifacts.
For acoocooro, objects must
trascend the dimensions of
mere function, and become
emotional symbols, through
nostalgia and rituals.
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Ceremonia is an exploration
on utilitarian objects, as well
as the emotional relevance,
the performances, and the
rituals that surround them,
informed by the history,
music and reality contained
within the old colonial dance
of concheros.
Each of this set’s objects plays
part in the experience of Cer-
emonia, pulling the spectator
into the literal and symbolic
performance.
 CHICHIMECAS, AZTECAS & MEXICAS
Concheros is the name given
to a ceremony performed in
Mexico since the colonial
period, along with the music
that accompanies it. Syncret-
ic in nature, it features both
prehispanic and Christian
elements, and its exact ori-
gins are difficult to connect
to a specific prehispanic re-
ligious ceremony. Nowadays,
however, it is performed
during a number of Chris-
tian festivities, and many
variants currently exist.
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It is a circular and cyclical
dance, performative, yet not
intended for an audience.
Calling upon a deity and their
ancestors, concheros organize
themselves into groups and
hierarchies, and dance and
play, in a ritual that brings
past and present together.
The sound of armadillo-shell
mandolins, ayoyotes (shells,
tied to the ankles), and
drums fills the air, as fra-
grant herbs purify the space
and those who take part.
Concheros is an event set apart
by its sounds, its atmosphere,
its emotion, and its mystique.
Taking the ritual as inspi-
ration, Ceremonia is a search
for meaning and magic with-
in utilitarian objects. On the
other hand, it is a simple and
clear denunciation. Objects
that are perceived as useful
are given value according
to their function; however,
when presented in a certain
way, they can become the arti-
facts of a mystical experience.
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 CAJA DE MÚSICA
Concheros’ music, predomi-
nantly percussive, is unique
by means of its sounds and its
rythms, more than its melody
or its harmony. It is atmos-
pheric, cyclical, and repet-
itive. The music box repro-
duces and reinterprets many
of the concheros’ sounds and
instruments: shells, strings,
and drums, also mirroring
the ritual’s syncretic nature.
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In Ceremonia, the music box
is also the bridge between the
spectator and the mysticism
of the ritual. By turning
the handle, the spectator
becomes more than just an
observer. The handle, which
resembles a rattle’s handle,
draws the spectators directly
into the ceremony and
makes them agents, active
participants.
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Space is crucial in any ritu-
al, as it is in the process of
taking participants in a state
of meditation and mystical
predisposition. The pedes-
tal, made in solid oak, and
its crystal, are designed to
modify and configurate the
space that houses this object.
Lights from the pedestal illu-
minate the floor, add texture,
and create new shadows.
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AT MÓSFE R A
On the other hand, the crys-
tal is meant to reflect the
viscous and almost organic
nature of glass in its orig-
inal, malleable state. Light
coming from the crystal is
encapsulated, distorted, and
projected in the shape of wa-
ter-like reflections. Atmósfera
is a mysterious and peculiar
object, an artifact capable of
transforming space.
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These pieces, made in
high-temperature ceramics,
both metallic and stony in
appearance, suggest the pres-
ence of magical or religious
events. It is their capricious
shape and their sensibility,
and not its function, that
gives them value and allows
them to conduct the ritual:
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C O PA L E R A S
they are its ever-present wit-
nesses. Ashes are part of a
ceremony’s emotional arche-
ology. They show evidence
of recent events: the burn-
ing of copal (aromatic resin)
and fragrant herbs, which
are used to purify the place
where the ritual takes place,
as well as its participants.
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 ORG A NIZER’ S C U R ATOR I A L IN T EN T IONS

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 OFFICI A L IN V I TAT ION

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 we are a multidisciplinary design studio.
our main goal is to offer complete and
integral experiences, conceived with
each of our clients’ unique and specific
needs in mind.

the sound of the word acoocooro

represents the moment the cherry
blossom opens and blooms. it is meant
to represent the heart and the mind: its
emotions, passion and nostalgia.

we value the emotional bonds between

design, objects, space, and the
individuals that experience and live their
own stories through them, stimulating
their memory and sense of nostalgia.

we want to be the stage for these new

stories and memories, through image,
experience and emotion.

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