ABSOLUT is proud to present: ABSOLUT FURA
A La Fura dels Baus interpretation of the essence of ABSOLUT

"ABSOLUT FURA is a romp, a dance of transparencies that flies beyond the boundaries of sensorial seduction and dives into the depths of a universe of wild dreams. The aim is to show the form of transparent dreams and the visual shaping of ABSOLUT", says La Fura

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La Fura are used to entering the spectator's world by provoking, and they took the challenge of plunging heading into the transparent universe of ABSOLUT in movement as well as in stillness.

The movement is created through mobile screens that lead the spectator into the world of ABSOLUT through colours: blue for ABSOLUT VODKA, red for ABSOLUT PEPPAR, yellow for ABSOLUT CITRON, purple for ABSOLUT KURANT and orange for ABSOLUT MANDRIN. La Fura colours the flavours with revolving, self-contained bodies that take the spectator to the very centre of the action.

The stillness is represented by an 8-metre structure - a water tower/statue/bottle that shows the essence of the performance: clarity, simplicity and perfection in the ABSOLUT bottle. The music, white and liquid, broken up into layers of loops and waterborne repetitions, is the sound reflection of a tranquil spectacle, half picture and half action, that uses sound and visual stimuli to incubate the profile of the ABSOLUT bottle.

La Fura dels Baus became know to the world when they performed the spectacular opening ceremony at the 1992 summer Olympic in Barcelona. ABSOLUT has a long history in art partnership, initiated with ABSOLUT WARHOL in 1985. Since then more than 400 artists - painters, sculptors, architects, photographers, designers etc., has been included into the ABSOLUT ART COLLECTION. ABSOLUT FURA is the first venture into performing arts.

Credits:

Title: ABSOLUT FURA
Artistic Director:Fura dels Baus/Jürgen Müller
Musical Director:Fura dels Baus/Miki Espuma
Starring:ABSOLUT
And featuring:Ramón Tarés, Glòria Ràmia, Vidi Vidal, Joan Oriol "Turbito", Tatín, Cecilia Inés Petrilli
Creative artists members of The Fura dels Baus: Miki Espuma, Pep Gatell, Jürgen Müller, Alex Ollé, Carlos Padrissa, Pera Tantiñá.

ABSOLUT: The origin

When we talk about ABSOLUT we have to cast our minds over to the fertile wheat fields of southern Sweden. Fields, kissed by the breeze, dreaming in winter and waking in springtime. Rich earth and cold winters that reduce risk of grain damage to a minimum and bestow on the centuries-old vodka its unmistakable character.

Clarity and perfection, achieved after more than 120 years' experience in Åhus, an exquisitely tiny medieval Swedish village, cradle of Europe's finest and purest waters. The perfect spring for vodka production. Every single drop of ABSOLUT is distilled hundreds of times in a process of continuous rectification until it reaches the quality summit of the ABSOLUT universe. A unique process, invented and applied by Lars Olsson Smith since 1879.

ABSOLUT: Its artistic evolution

In 1985 Andy Warhol expressed his admiration for the ABSOLUT bottle and painted a spectacular black ABSOLUT bottle. Since then, over 500 painters, sculptors, folk artists, architects, fashion designers and photographers have interpreted Absolut Vodka in their artistic disciplines. They are encouraged to let their imagination run riot, the only condition being that the work be inspired by the shape or an image of ABSOLUT . The resultant works have been exhibited and used for international advertising campaigns.

In 1987 ABSOLUT started to collaborate with the world of fashion, with the simplest possible silk gown with shoulder straps, designed by David Cameron and modelled to perfection by Rachel Williams. ABSOLUT CAMERON became the first outfit in the ABSOLUT fashion collection, further enriched in 1995 with the addition of the photographer Helmut Newton and designers such as John Galliano, Helmut Lang, Azzedine Alaia and Manolo Blahnik. The result was a campaign of stunning beauty, sprinkled with touches of humour and shot in the wheat fields of southern Sweden.

The north of Sweden, beyond the Arctic Circle, was the setting for a further fabulous collection: ABSOLUT VERSACE. At the Jükkasjarvi Ice Hotel Herb Ritts photographed Naomi Campbell trapped inside a 2.4-metre-high bottle hewn out of a 3-ton block of ice.

Between 1998 and 2000 the brand created what is up to now its most important collection of European art: ABSOLUT ORIGINALS. Sixteen internationally-renowned artists from painting, graphic design, photography and architecture supplied their priceless contributions. Among them were Spaniards Miquel Barceló and Javier Mariscal, and the controversial Damian Hirst and Chris Offili from Britain.

In April this year five European cities joined forces in a hitherto-unseen artistic project involving expression of light: ABSOLUT LIGHTS. The experiment was broadcast live on the Internet and featured artistic "installations" by five of Europe's leading avant-garde artists reproducing ABSOLUT using light as a creative tool. In Madrid, the artist Ana Laura Aláez designed an hexagonal tunnel of blue light that was exhibited for a week at the Fuencarral Market.

Apart from those mentioned above, several other Spanish artists feature as collaborators with ABSOLUT, such as Veva Medem, Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, Oscar Mariné, Duyos Paniagua, Antonio Miró and Carlos Díez.

La Fura dels Baus: Track record

FURA has toured 4 of the 5 continents, 30 countries and 250 cities. Has carried out more than 2000 performances, which have been seen live by more than 2 million spectators.

La Fura is a company in a constant process of evolution, always tackling new challenges in the scenic arts. Since its foundation in 1979, La Fura has surprised the critics as much as the audience on four continents with its touring shows and its on-off events. With the show "Accions" in 1983 it became the artistic phenomenon of the moment. La Fura started with the basis of a collective creation where the actor and author were the same entity provoking an aesthetics that have been defined using the term "lenguaje furero"- furero language.

During the nineties the company extended its artistic projects to textual theatre, digital theatre, opera and other important events. They also have created their own record label and has released recording works with music from its productions.

La Fura dels Baus carried out performances of street between 1979 and 1983. This action will develop towards a work based by using a range of scenic resources, which were related to music, movement, the use of both natural and industrial materials, the application of new technologies and the direct implication of the spectator in the work.

During the Nineties the company extended its artistic projects to the textual theater, digital theater, street theatre, opera and big corporate events. La Fura dels Baus produced the opening ceremony of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, the city where the Company has been based from its beginning. The transformation of venues, materials and audience has been a key concept in La Fura dels Baus shows. This year have released their first movie, "Fausto 5.0" at Venice Film Festival.

Some of the cities were La Fura has performed, among others, are: Mexico DF, Lisbon, Rio de Janeiro, Berlin, Amberes, Buenos Aires, Rome, Brussels, Salzburg, Nantes, Sarajevo, etceteras. Of course, also all over Spain.

/Optional/Germany: 19 cities, 231 performances
Andorra: 1 city, 2 performances
Argentina: 3 cities, 104 performances
Australia: 2 cities, 30 performances
Austria: 6 cities, 31 performances
Belgium: 4 cities, 22 performances
Brazil: 2 cities, 24 performances
Canada: 1 city, 3 performances
Czech Republic: 1 city, 3 performances
Chile: 1 city, 4 performances
Costa Rica: 1 city, 4 performances
Croatia: 1 city, performances
Denmark: 2 cities, 17 performances
Slovenia: 1 city, 3 performances
Spain: 111 cities, 965 performances
Finland: 2 cities, 3 performances
France: 19 cities, 111 performances
Great Britain: 4 cities, 31 performances
Holland: 9 cities, 47 performances
Israel: 1 city, 8 performances
Italy: 14 cities, 123 performances
Japan: 1 city, 3 performances
Mexico: 2 cities, 25 performances
Poland: 2 cities, 6 performances
Portugal: 4 cities, 51 performances
Singapore: 1 city, 3 performances
Switzerland: 4 cities, 34 performances
Turkey: 1 city, 3 performances
USA: 1 city, 9 performances
Venezuela: 2 cities, 11 performances
Yugoslavia: 1 city, 2 performances

IPSUM PLANET: the cutting edge of graphic design

Ipsum Planet has invented an image creation system applied for the first time in the ABSOLUT FURA image and featured in Spain in the Neo2 magazine. The result is ground-breaking. It is neither a blown-up area nor round pixels; it is a series of graphic sequences applied to each area of colour which create a photographic image. It is personalised four-colour printing.

For further information:

The Absolut Company, a business area within V&S Vin & Sprit AB, is the brand owner and producer of ABSOLUT VODKA, ABSOLUT PEPPAR, ABSOLUT CITRON, ABSOLUT KURANT and ABSOLUT MANDRIN. ABSOLUT is the third largest international spirit in the world and is marketed in 125 markets. ABSOLUT is made at the distilleries near Åhus, Sweden. The head office is in Stockholm.

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