Gatos, which is meaning literally “cats” in portuguese, is Rio’s term for to define the unofficial, and often illegal, electrical connections made in order to get electrical power from official electricity sources in favelas and other urban areas. Many people living in favelas pirate electricity by tapping their wires, their Gatos, into nearby street lamps.

Gatos, considered as a symbol if understood as emblematic of the relationship between the formal urban regulations and the informal spontaneous living context, would represents the point of transition from a controlled and regulated predictable network to an “invisible” and undocumented complex.

Visually driven by the fascinating chaos created by Gatos in Brazil biggest cities, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, how they cross the streets and create a different map of space, the designers have analysed this element in different ways. Following an experimental methodology, they have physically dissected it and have discovered its inner core: the copper. Its beauty inspired them to use it as row material.

The aim of this project is to reflect on the hidden nature of everyday elements like the electrical wires that could take the shape of inextricable mess. The project is composed by various elements and actions: a big installation, made of electrical wires and the copper taken from inside them, that fill the centre of the room. People move around this copper presence, reflect on the role and meaning of Gatos. At the same time public also is invited to take some copper from the main installation to create their own artworks. Therefore the copper cloud gradually dissolves and simultaneously objects made by people appear in the exhibition. Shining copper Chandeliers hanging from the ceiling remind both the importance and the fascination of this common object.