ICARUS NIGHTMARE

“The disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful, and to despise, or, at least, to neglect persons of poor and mean condition is the great and most universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments.” –Adam Smith Mankind is disgusting: most of us would be willing to sacrifice an entire population in the name of happiness. The sacrifice of thousands of people has no value for those who can benefit. Any social or technological progress requires sacrifice and do not hesitate to disrupt the balance of the world or pervert the human nature, so that we can cry progress. By dint of playing with human lives, we end up playing God. The symbolism of this proposal is very clear: the rich want to get richer, no matter what it cost to others. In the scenario, the technology is at its climax. It is now possible to make a city fly and this is what Rio’s wealthy people have decided to do. Leaving the Earth, they settled in the heavens, disrupting the urban ecosystem established. The people of the favelas, neglected, have no choice but to live in the ruins, a land without sun, obscured by the floating city. The progress of robotics takes over the human labor and favela residents are without any resources, with nothing. An abandoned people, discarded: a people that we look dying in the most total indifference. This project somewhat radical, arises as a satire extrapolating a truth too transparent. It was aimed to show some cleavage between the people of Rio de Janeiro: on one hand, the rich and the tourists, on the other favelas and poverty. The project would also focus on the expansion of technology, an imminent danger to society. Today, all the information goes through a virtual support, whether it be education or culture (Google Museum project). People who do not have access to this virtual space will therefore no longer have access to education and culture, they will no longer can integrate into their society or in their time. This project will explore the theme “sick and wonder” through a very specific interpretation. In this case the man is disgusting as what he can do for his comfort. Through the disgust of human nature we create wonder, the Garden of Eden. The symbol of the flying city is not trivial: it is at once the height of advanced technology possible today, and it is also the oldest dream of men. The impact of this satire is double-edged: on one hand to warn about the dangers of technology and also the dangers of consumerism, creed for which we would sell our souls. The concept of this project involves one thing: when you have money you have access to everything, you become a God to his fellow men. Like Icarus who tried to defy God by approaching too close to the sun, the flying city leaves the earthly world to aspire to a heavenly life. But we all know how the story ends…