MU – urban metaphysics

The Japanese word MU 無 indicates absence or lack, and must be rendered with “there is not”. Among the philosophical concepts expounded by Zen Buddhism, the concept of "nothingness", that's MU, is of particular importance; it cannot be understood as the absence of a presence – typically Western definition of nothingness – but it indicates, more specifically, “the simultaneous absence of being there and not being there”: “there is” and “there is not” are simultaneously negated. The nothingness of Zen excludes any possibility of being determined, and is therefore truly pure and intact as it is absolutely intangible. MU It is an exploration within the city of Parma, An exercise in contemplation and philosophical speculation in motion. Relies on the concept of thinking by making, that is, on the ability to learn and develop thoughts starting from sensitive experience. Following a period of residence, navigating within the textures of the city and within the philosophical principles that inspired the new edition of the Natura Dèi Teatri festival, DOM- makes up a walking journey through urban paradoxes, takes the audience inside those unusual landscapes, face in the shade of the present time, that if carefully observed, deep issues open on our living in the earth, on our being human species, community, Sometimes plug of creation, Sometimes happy expression of vital forces. Participants will be asked to travel for a few hours, within a collective act that will end at dusk with an aperitif. The experience is conceived as an urban ritual aimed at producing accidental and experiential knowledge of the city. We will observe the stratification of signs that occur in a given portion of territory, from the architectural morphemes used to the living habits of the different human occupants, animals and plants. Themes such as the relationship between body and landscape will be investigated, between center and periphery, between permeability and separation, between private space and public space, between reality and projection of reality. In addition to moments of dialogue and reflection, There are stops for specific work on the body, through perception practices, of listening and movement. The day will produce documentary material in written form and with the aid of photographic images and video montages.
We recommend dressing comfortably and bringing a water bottle.