Urban Flora (2025) At the invitation of Animale, and inspired by the concept behind their 2025 Winter collection, Simone Mattar conceived the gastroperformance Urban Flora, orchestrating different mediums to articulate an immersive, multisensory work, experienced by the brand’s guests. Through images, sounds, and flavors, Simone reveals the insistence of nature in the city, as life takes root wherever it finds a crack. The tension between the calculated geometry of the city and the organic vitality of our flora fuels her proposition. Conceived as a tribute to the way these forces complement one another, Urban Flora unfolds as a visual narrative in five acts: Lava, Concrete, Concrete Poetry, Moss, and Flower.
Act 1. Lava — Amuse-bouche The first act is telluric, inspired by the ascent of magma from deep within the Earth toward its crust, bringing Earth’s internal energy and buried past to the surface. This mechanism of energetic self-regulation gives rise to volcanic landscapes, where incandescent viscosity and slow, continuous movement evoke a sense of cosmic eroticism. The high temperature at which this material reaches the lithosphere results in a slow cooling process that gives volcanic mountains an organic appearance, despite their rigidity.
Act 2. Concrete — Starter Just like lava built the landscapes of nature, humans developed concrete to build their own empire. The principle is similar: a viscous mineral compound that, once dry, assumes a rigid form, offering resistance and support. Our cities bear witness to the versatility of this invention, capable of embracing both the lines of Lina Bo Bardi and Paulo Mendes da Rocha, as well as the sinuous curves of Oscar Niemeyer.
Act 3. Concrete Poetry — First course The desire for construction within the human heart is so great that the word “concrete” came to extend beyond buildings and to signify that which is real, true, and existent. The built came to stand in for the real. The Brazilian tradition of concrete poetry is an example of this. In it, words are considered beyond their definitions, as materials used to build poems. We can also find poetry in the concrete material of which our cities are made. The marks of time, the wear of surfaces, and the different layers of construction invite us into an archaeology of our own civilization.
Act 4. Moss — Second course Building in order to occupy space has implications. One of the most fascinating is the creation of zones of light and shadow. Under the shadow of our constructions, we observe the impulse of other beings to occupy space. Moss, simple in organization and without stems or roots, settles wherever there is shade and some degree of humidity. The way it coats soil, rocks, tree trunks, and our walls alike invites us to reconsider any hierarchy we might assume between ourselves and plants. The lace-like architecture of moss leaves nothing to be desired when compared with our most imposing cathedrals.
Act 5. Flower — Dessert From the insistence of life spreading where sunlight does not reach, we leap to the chromatic grandeur of flowers. They are central to the plant’s reproductive cycle, drawing both our fascinated gaze and a host of pollinators. Through their biological diversity and the mythical narratives surrounding their origins, flowers hold a symbolic dimension in our culture, reinforcing our belief that nature and culture are not as distant as we suppose.