The double book, supervised from a conceptual point of view by the artistic directors of Karnart, Luís Castro and Vel Z, is divided into the two parts which make up the neologism perfinst, PERF and INST, and which are anchored in the concepts of PERFormance (performing arts, lato sensu) and INSTalation (plastic and digital arts). The book PERF focuses on the person, the animate being, the performer of Perfinst, and includes specialist texts by Luís Castro, first-person testimonies by performers Gisela Cañamero and Mónica Garcez, a scientific text by Maria João Brilhante, and reflections by specialist observers Emília Tavares, Nuno Carinhas and Claudia Galhós. The book INST focuses on the object as the protagonist, the inanimate said to have a soul, the collections of the Karnart cabinet of curiosities, and combines specific texts by Luís Castro, first-person testimonies by the performers Bibi Perestrelo and Sara Carinhas, scientific texts by Maria Helena Serôdio and Daniela Salazar, and reflections by the specialist observers Gil Mendo, João Carneiro and Jorge Martins Rosa. The bi-partite twins are, from the point of view of graphic construction, linked by a central notebook of images, which is constituted as a visual essay by Vel Z.
The work, coordinated by Rita Martins, who has a degree in Philosophy and a PhD in Artistic Studies from the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon, and by Luís Castro, has a graphic design by Maria João Ribeiro, bibliography and revision of the contents by Licínia Ferreira, and occasional translations and back translations by Sérgio Vitorino. Pedro Costa, associate professor at the Political Economy Department of ISCTE-IUL and researcher at the Centro de Estudos Dinâmia’CET-iscte, was the first reader and presenter of the work on the day of its public launch. Perfinst is a co-edition of Karnart and the Centre for Theatre Studies of the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon, with financing from the Gulbenkian Culture Programme of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and partnerships with Ciência Viva – the National Agency for Scientific and Technological Culture and the publisher A Bela e o Monstro Edições. The edition, guided by principles of sustainability and printed by the Sociedade de Manufacturas Gráficas Papelmunde, includes 600 copies with 25cm high and 18cm wide, and a 128-page text inside, on recycled paper, and 48 pages of images, on semi-matte couché paper.