The Crane, the Octopus Martyr, and the Day I Ran Out of Excuses

My experience at the European Performing Science Night 2025.

Geronimo Burneo

10/19/20258 min read

Picture me a couple of weeks ago. I’m getting help putting on a harness because in a few brief moments I will be hung from a crane. My task is the following: I must embody a marine martyr and octopus man who symbolizes oceanic salvation. For the past few days, my teammates and I have been creating a new religion for our performance at the European Performing Science Night (EPSN) in Barcelona. It’s an initiative led by Fundación Épica La Fura Dels Baus with the purpose of building a bridge between science, art, and technology. For the past half of the year, the foundation has been working closely with ocean scientists... Now, we the artists, had to transform these findings into a compelling performance to make society understand the gravity of the subject matter. So there we were, 19 artists working together to put on a show that will make anyone understand the consequences of our mistreatment of the ocean. One of those artists is going to be hung from a crane every night—that artist is me.

“Were you afraid?” my mom asked me. I believe it is a reasonable question... Surprisingly, I was not afraid, but fear was one of the main reasons why I ended up in this situation. I have been actively creating music for the past 5 years and the big next step for me has been “playing live.” I must admit I have been afraid of that. I used to have technical concerns... I cleared those concerns by getting a master’s degree in multimedia creation for live shows and performing arts. The next fear was that no one will come to my show; I have proof that in at least 3 cities I could fill a room with at least 9-10 people. That is decent enough for an “intimate vibes” kind of performance. The final fear I was battling was thinking that it was not possible to put on a good show with limited resources, and during those two weeks getting coached by the legends of “La Fura Dels Baus” I got proof that to start performing you don’t even need a venue. So, fear had brought me here just to leave me out of excuses.

I must also give credit where credit is due, one of the reasons I was not afraid was because of my new friend Ramon. He has been working with La Fura for decades now, as an actor and also as a technical wizard who was able to make me fly and bring me safely back to earth using the crane. Apart from being incredibly skilled, he had an incredible aura that just made me feel so safe. One of these conversations inspired me profoundly. While he was buckling me up we started talking about humanity and if we are inherently good or bad. He said, “Humans are both the worst and the best creation God put on this earth. And because He gave us free will, I like to think we are the best.” After weeks of getting bombarded with scientific information about how we are destroying the planet, his statement felt like a beacon of hope. “Don’t you see what is happening now?” he replied... he told me “Look at what you are all doing, really if you can’t see it then there is no point of me saying it?” he repeated. We heard our cue and started the action; he literally left me hanging.

I didn’t want to disappoint Ramon so this time I tried to see what he was talking about. As we entered the scene, I made an extra effort to understand. The first thing that came to my attention was the song that was playing. I had cut that track some months ago because I wanted to get better at producing techno... and now it was sounding through the speakers at EPSN. “Fuck this is going to leave a difficult itch to scratch,” I thought. I had never played any of my songs so loud before. Then I saw the lights that were pointing at me, not by chance but by awesome teammates... They had been programmed to perfection... I felt the garment I was wearing. Thanks to it I could act out the scene. It had been carefully crafted by one of my group mates... Something a computer geek like me could not have done alone. Then, beneath my feet marched the rest of our team, screaming the ocean protest chants... It was a tremendously powerful scene that only worked because in that moment we became one and the same. We all had our role, our action, our light to shine or our chant to sing, but we were all doing it together and with intention. That did not happen by chance, it was due to the process that Épica had guided us through... a process that places its maximum faith and focus on collaborative creativity.

If you ever want to collaborate creatively with living legends, check out Fundación Épica La Fura Dels Baus. After a brilliant 48-year career of boundary-breaking artistic performances, La Fura dels Baus has literally done it all, while maintaining their integrity and independence. I had the complete honor to learn and create something with them because, for the past seven years, they have focused on sharing their incredible creative process with the new generation of artists. This is their legacy. Through Épica, they share a spirit of constant innovation, proving that with the right mindset and team, nothing is impossible in art. Living this in flesh and bone was one of the most fulfilling creative experiences in my entire life. Getting directorial notes like, “If the cops don’t come with your performance, you are not doing it well” or “Don’t pretend to be the octopus man, become the octopus man,” didn't just fill me with hope—it reminded me that there has always been people wanting to create new, innovative, radical art, and La Fura made an incredible legacy out of that. How did they achieve this radical, lasting legacy? As Nadala Fernandez... says wisely: “Your egos stay out the door, that is how we work.” Powerful words that work so effectively that on the second night of our performance, a cop did come after me!

As incredible as our mentors were, there was something that made this performance and experience even more memorable. That is thanks to the incredible 19 artists that formed our group... We all came to solve the same challenge: we needed to create a one-of-a-kind work of art together. At least we were strangers on day one! During our second day we went to the beaches of Badalona with marine scientists... For our third day, scientists brought a whole lab for us to look at microscopical alien-like beings, the mighty and divine Plankton. You can imagine that with that itinerary of activities, at that point I was already sharing the microscope with my new brothers and sisters. Saving the ocean was a big part of it, but the glue that harmonized our spirits together was the power of creativity. That’s what we all came to do, create together, and that is something we do best with our human souls. We created such beautiful bonds that our connections transcended the boundaries of the venue... But to play hard you’ve got to work hard. Pep Gatel the director from La Fura Dels Baus put it perfectly... he told us, “The performance was never the top priority of the workshop. We wanted to ignite an engine in you; what excites me is what you do after.” The engine is going.

I must take a moment to give an enormous shout-out to the entire team at Fundación Épica La Fura Dels Baus for the exceptional photo and video documentation of this entire process. Their dedication ensures the legacy of this work endures. But most importantly, none of this—the performance, the learning, or the incredible human connection—would have been possible without my 19 teammates, my new creative family: Miquel Arguello, Samuel Gonzales Merida, Adriá Jornet, Ana Perez Moreno, Laura Lopez Feranandez, Patricia Soto Molina, Nàdia Vilarrubí Olayo, Lucía Jimenez, Giorgia Lauro, Celia Gonzalez, Vasilis Maltmpes, Maria Gonzales, Ana Inés Flores, Poncho Avila, Ana Maria Moreno, Maria Laura Ruggiero, Gemma Rius, and Ludwig Camarillo. Thank you all for the shared vision and the collaborative spirit!

Now imagine me coming down from the crane... I still don’t have a clear answer for Ramon! What’s happening now? Why am I doing this? As he brings me safely back down, it becomes clear to me he has also been thinking about our conversation... “Do you think the fish in the sea are putting on an incredible performance to save their home? Are they doing art? No! That is up to us humans,” he finally answers while blowing my mind away. “Remember what I told you, we have free will. Not all will, but there is a group of humans who took the choice to create amazing art and that is all of us gathered here tonight!” And with that, he finished.

All of this reminded me of something essential: when you invest your time and energy in expanding your creativity, you give yourself permission to explore — to create with intention. And something shifts. You discover who you truly are. That’s what RESTLESS is about — a guide for creators who want to live with purpose and keep their creativity alive. If my story resonates with you, you can start your own journey through this link. Let’s keep it flowing. Let’s keep it RESTLESS.

This book is both a creative mirror and a guide.

It helps you define your project from the inside out — aligning who you are with what you create.

Inside, you’ll find:

🌟 Purpose Mapping — define your creative North Star.
✨ Creative Healing — turn your blocks into breakthroughs.
🛠️ Practical Exercises — build your own Purpose Book.
💬 Brand Alignment — translate your story into your work.

Each chapter invites reflection and action — combining branding tools, psychology, and spirituality so your creativity becomes both art and compass.

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an abstract photo of a curved building with a blue sky in the background

A practical, no-bullshit, human-centered book for creative and non-creative people alike. What I most valued about Gerónimo’s book is how it prompts you to ask the right questions—most importantly: Why do we do what we do?
Working constantly with creative people, I see the real need for the exercises in this book. They ensure that not only your creative concepts, but your entire life, is meaningfully shaped by mapping out what truly matters to you from your own unique perspective.
Everything around us is designed. Gerónimo offers a fresh, human-centered approach to help people recognize that everyone possesses creativity—and that awareness is our greatest power.

-Emilio Arellano

A warm, practical, and inspiring guide for any creative journey.
Gerónimo Burneo shares real tools and personal stories that make Restless feel like advice from a trusted friend. It gave me the motivation and clarity I needed for my own project I can’t wait to read what comes next!

- Sabrina Guerra