A short residency in Barcelona – A City of occupation and hope

I was  over the moon to undertake a residency at Jiwar, in Barcelona. Jiwar is an Arab word which means neighbourhood. Beyond this meaning, Jiwar aims to  bridge experiences and promotes inter-cultural and interdisciplinary exchange.   “As is true of most of Spain, the province of Catalunya, and especially Barcelona as its capital city, suffered greatly under the Franco dictatorship, a period lasting from the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 until 1975. Catalunya was punished in particular because of its successful struggle for national autonomy and active anarchist movement and resistance before and throughout the Civil War. As the Republicans and leftist resistance faltered, Franco’s subsequent fascist dictatorship severely repressed any public activities, writings and even discussions in Barcelona and the greater province associated with Catalan nationalism, democracy and left-wing ideologies.”

Polis

Shattered – Exhibition Red Gallery beginning 3 September 2015 Opening 6-8

A spectre is haunting…

The protest s filmed through the glass bottle, light shatters through the medium of the bottle/glass. The bottle catches either just light, or the image of the people moving through glass, a medium already scientifically interesting as a liquid which feels solid, but is sand. The projection is then captured on the wall the people protesting moving, but stopped at this time of austerity. Will the bottle let its contents go? Or create shards that can split time? These specters of time past in time present are an indication that time present will be time past. It is humanity’s actions that will shape the final storyboard, and it can be a positive one of meeting human need. The questions of time/temporality and the consequence of being caught in a difficult time –  austerity, war, dictatorship – are raised.