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“I Will” - Foreign Portrait is a art work on immigration. It's a dance-theater piece to be realized in a visual arts gallery, with the scenography comprising a photographic exhibition and multimedia installation that narrates a poetic, transformative migratory journey. But we could also say that this is a photographic exhibition carried out with a multimedia installation with live performance of dance theater, portrait photography and cinema. Depending on when the public visits the gallery, this may give the viewer a different interpretation of the format of the work. During business hours, the gallery is open to visitors with audio-visual media that will tell a story along its route. On weekend evening, the film's actor is at the gallery performing, bringing to life the images displayed on his own performing body. In this case, the actor greets the audience at the gallery's entrance, introduces the theme, and invites them to enter the space and embark on a journey through the displayed elements.

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Conceptually, its a reflection on the cultural, social and political concept of edges, borders, belonging, integration and acceptance. Based on the poetic testimony of an immigrant artist who has recently arrived in Europe, the project starts from a personal context, passes through social and political contexts to reach an archetypal level of conflict. Wouldn't the migratory movement be part of human nature, currently imprisoned by cultural and political contexts? What are the margins for? What defines our borders? How to deal with these conflicts that are established in these intersections?

This is a project created by Brazilian director Will Lopes and developed with Bosnian photographer Dino Rekanović and the Vienna Art Association Ditiramb. It is a work in progress that has been under development since March 2021, with the creation of a short movie and photographic experiments. 

In August 2021, the artists worked with Italian filmmaker Ilaria Vergani for a week in an artistic residency in Vienna. In October 2021, the project had its first production as a photographic exhibition at the Rotlicht Analog Photography Festival in Vienna. In March 2022, the project participated in the first Mosaique event by the cultural space Das Lot, to showcase ideas and processes and exchange raw work states. 

In 2023, the short film project received support from the City of Vienna (MA7), and filming was carried out in July of that year. From this point on, the work entered a new phase, expanding beyond film and photography into a transdisciplinary format that brings together exhibition, multimedia installation, live performance, and site specific adaptation. 

In 2024, the project reached an important new stage with its presentation at the Semperdepot, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, in the context of the Rotlicht Festival, where its performative and installative dimensions became more fully articulated. In 2025, the work continued its international development in Japan, with presentations in Hokkaido and Tokyo. In November 2025, I Will – Foreign Portrait was presented at Tochukaso Shisha in Otaru/Sapporo, and shortly after at the Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo, where it unfolded as an exhibition, performance, artist talk, and film screening. The Tokyo presentation formed part of the official celebrations of 130 years of fraternity between Brazil and Japan. At its current stage, I Will – Foreign Portrait exists as an open and evolving transdisciplinary project.

Each presentation reconfigures the relationship between body, image, space, memory, and migration according to the architectural, historical, and cultural context in which it is installed. Rather than a fixed piece, it is a living work that continues to transform as it crosses borders, languages, and audiences.

Credits

Produced by: .ditiramb
Script, Performance and Direction: Will Lopes
Exhibition project: Nina Coimbra

Colaboration: Ilaria Vergani

1st Assistent: Andressa Viana

2nd Assistent: Rafael Frasão

Photography & Camera: Dino Rekanović
Camera 2: Amar Tahirović
Camara Assistance: Bojan Stekić
Assistance: Goran Bećirčić

Editing and Color correction: Amar Tahirović

Music Composition, Sound Design: Christoph Punzmann

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Photography & Photo Performance: Christoff Wiesinger

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Music Compositions and Research Funded by the City of Vienna and BMKOES

Project Supported by: Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo; City of Vienna (MA7)

Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo; Secretaria de Cultura do Destrito Federal (Conexão FAC)

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