NICOLAS FONSECA
The Culinary Creative Designing for the Senses
Also known as Mr. Jaune, Nico Fonseca is a filmmaker with experience in both linear and nonlinear storytelling, traditional films and web-based projects. These days, however, he’s more focused on creating delicious, interactive experiences that focus on the senses, both on his own and as C2 Montreal’s newest creative director. Think interactive dinner parties where memories are transformed into a curated menu … or a dinner kit that transforms a meal into a series of social interactions, bringing both play and physicality to the table (literally). For this year’s C2MTL, Nico upped the ante, inviting guests like the scientific director of NOMA, Dr. Arielle Johnson, and pastry chef and social activist Nathasha Pickowitz, to speak about the intersection of food systems and the economy. (In other words, it was so much more than bagels and poutine.)
Projects
Outside of C2MTL, Nico is the creative mind behind the semi-annual In the Mouth dinner club, which encourages guests to “bring your memories, forget your manners, chew on your tastes, and swallow your stories.” Menus, based on the collective food memories of diners, are completely unique and designed to encourage interaction. Moving on to senses beyond taste, Earth Room was an interactive installation by Nico and multidisciplinary designer Kelly Nunes, exploring human interaction with nature through interactive lighting, sound and design mimicking magma, seismic activity, electrical storms, and the aurora borealis. And tapping into his playful side, Nico created the 3D Popcorn installation for Arclight Cinemas in 2019, which featured cinematic optical illusions, and scratch-and-sniff elements that smelled like corn, butter, sugar, and salt.
