Ersatz is Julien Mellano's freely fantasised projection of the man of tomorrow. Vision of a potential monster, this man is the absurd result of the alchemy betwenn humans and machines. This solitary specimen in Ersatz seems to be the remnant of a disenchanted future, as he suffers the consequences of a technological revolution that has not entirely regained its footing.

In this piece without words, Julien Mellano probes virtual reality by manipulating real objects. A blend of humour and disturbing farce, he invites the audience into a humerous and mysterious treasure hunt where symbols are hung together to form a metaphorical painting, strangely reminiscent of the vanities of the 17th century. A crossroad between theatre and visual arts, Jacques Tati and Black Mirror, Ersatz is the icy glow of the future already present.

Like a poem or a frog, Ersatz can’t be dissected, because the isolated elements can't explain anything of the entanglements within. Here, in a black hole, we find the absurd and the miraculous. Weighing each other up and weaving in and out, they attempt to catch up with the vanishing point of our humanity - whether real, virtual or augmented. Far from being a nearly organised narrative about future, Ersatz is a jpurney into troubled world, hidden in our deepest selves and it delves into our most deeply buried roots.

« My affection for the misappropriation of objects, twisted DIY and pocket special effects means that Science Fiction is an ideal playground. Whilst preparing Ersatz, I delved into the wanderings of big questions which raise themes including transhumanist ideologies, cybernetics, artificial intelligence and other unique technological advances, torn between a fascinating and distressing adventure that we keep for the future, and an emotional conscience from an original and creative past. It is this tension that I have tried to stage and which seems to me propitious to melancholy. »

Julien Mellano