CARLOS AZEREDO MESQUITABook launch “Visit [Country]”

“Visit [Country]” is an artist’s book that brings together texts taken from official tourism promotion materials from every country in the world. Stripped of the usual accompanying imagery and inspirational music, what becomes clear is how tourism feeds on—and is fuelled by—nationalism, chauvinism, and the invention of identity. Much like a “choose your own adventure” book, the reader is guided by a series of questions and must decide whether to visit another destination with “the best food”, “the most beautiful women”, “the friendliest people”, or “the most authentic history”. Welcome to a journey where every country is the best.

For the book launch, Carlos Azeredo Mesquita will transform its contents into a short interactive performance/presentation, in which the audience reads the texts, answers the questions, and votes in real time on which country is the best to visit next.

Carlos Azeredo Mesquita (1988, Porto) is a visual artist and performance maker. His work has been presented at events such as the Berlin Biennale, BoCA, Festival Circular, and the Lisbon Architecture Triennale; in institutions including the Serralves Museum, Teatro Municipal do Porto, MAAT, and Galeria Municipal do Porto; and in galleries such as Kubik Gallery in Porto, Untitled Gallery @ Marwen in Chicago, Vitrine Gallery in Weimar, and Faur Zsófi Gallery in Budapest. He holds a degree in Communication Design from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Porto (FBAUP) and studied photography at MOME Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Art Praxis at the DAI – Dutch Art Institute.