Happiness

Description of the production:

"Visit a drug-selling human robot in a small shop in the Sofienberg park!

In this art installation, creator and visual artist Dries Verhoeven explores the world of artificial happiness – a feeling that is increasingly available to us in the form of drugs, painkillers and antidepressants. In public space stands a small concrete building, resembling both a public toilet and a clandestine pharmacy. A humanoid—a human-like robot—provides an informative overview of recreational drugs, painkillers, and antidepressants—substances that allow us to regulate serotonin and dopamine levels in our brains and, in turn, influence our mood. With her mechanical body, the humanoid seeks to mimic the human experience. In the fusion of robotics and drugs, the work explores the intersection of humanity and artificiality—where synthetic means help us reclaim or enhance our humanity, or briefly step away from it. 

Supported by BPD Cultuurfonds, Fentener van Vlissingen Fonds, stimuleringsfonds creatieve industrie, Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, BNG Cultuurfonds.

SOURCES: 

Black Box teater, www.blackbox.no, 14.08.23, https://blackbox.no/nb/happiness/

Black Box teater’s archive, 2025

Robot creators: Chris Creatures Filmeffects