Tecla Sala Art Centre DOES Our garden needs its flowers exhibition catalogue
2021
Our Garden Needs Its Flowers
Artistic flows and narratives in L’Hospitalet’s cultural district
Curated by David Armengol and Albert Mercadé
Creative Direction and Design Curation by DOES Work
Our Garden Needs Its Flowers is the title of the debut album by African musicians Jess Sah Bi and Peter One, released in Côte d’Ivoire in 1985. Sung in Guro, English and French, the album is a wonderful tribute to the folk music of the seventies, fusing local sounds with foreign influences. Besides its sonorous nature, the use of this phrases as the exhibition title also suggests a poetic license that, from the curatorial perspective, would enable us to establish a simile between it and contemporary art and to highlight two key aspects in our project:, firstly, that of placing the visual arts and music on the same level within the context of L’Hospitalet; and, secondly, establishing parallel between the need to tend the flowers in an imaginary garden and the need to cultivate the artistic potential in the cultural environment of L’Hospitalet. In both cases, the word “our”, the feeling of belonging, forming part of something, is essential, manifested here in all its richness and plurality.
Since 2015, more than three hundred artists have chosen the city of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat as their creative home. Musicians, designers and visual artists now live side-by-side in redeveloped spaces in the city’s former industrial zone, which has become one of the main cultural hubs in the metropolitan area. Taking a natural, spontaneous approach, this exhibition aims to illustrate the different artistic flows, synergies and narratives that have been generated in the district. Moreover, adopting the principles laid down by Gilles Clément for the landscape, we propose a rough, wild journey through a series of islands of artistic intensity where creators’ shared concerns intersect: cultivation and vindication of material; the dialectic between nature and technology; the expansive dynamics of painting; the deconstruction of the artistic gaze; cultural activism; and so on. Based on an intimate dialogue with the works and using local materials, a team of designers from L’Hospitalet, commissioned by Does Work, took charge of art direction and graphic image (Oriol Cabarrocas and Guillermo Lucena) and also designed the room (Sociedad 0). Music and sound are also woven into the show in a choral project aimed at portraying the artistic and transversal vitality of the cultural ecosystem in L'Hospitalet.
Artists: Francesca d’Alfonso, Rafael Barradas, Arnau Blanch, Lucía C. Pino, Mireia C. Saladrigues, Ludovica Carbotta, Joan Claret, Paco Chanivet, Jordi Colomer, Germán Consetti, Guillaume Darribau, Pere Díez, Quico Estivill, Arash Fayez, Lara Fluxà, David Franklin, Neus Frigola, Carles Gabarró, Duncan Gibbs, Xavier Grau, Matteo Guidi, Marc Herrero, María I. Barros, La Infinita, Víctor Jaenada, Samuel Labadie, Andrea Leria, Raúl Lobo Baroja, Laura Llaneli, Óscar Martín, Berto Martínez Tello, Paola Massi, Dolores Mendy, Antoni Muntadas, Nevenka Pavic, Rasmus Nilausen, Raúl Páez, Alex Palacín, Diego Paonessa, Ayelen Peressini, Mercedes Pimiento, Mònica Planes, German Portal, Pablo del Pozo, Maria Pratts, Antonio R. Montesinos, Alfredo Sánchez, Mario Santamaria, Isabel Servera, Sitesize, Lolo&Sosaku, TAKK, Pep Vidal, Martin Vitaliti.
Design participants: Èlia Bagó, BoO Barcelona, Oriol Cabarrocas, Júlia Creuheras, Cristian Herrera, Guillermo Lucena, Max Milà i Laura Sebastianes, Josep Novell, Polígono 69, Sara Torres, Sociedad 0, TAKK.
CATALOGUE CREDITS
Edited by:
Centre d’Art Tecla Sala
Districte Cultural de L’Hospitalet (Ajuntament de L’Hospitalet)
DOES Work
Text:
Núria Marín i Martínez
David Armengol
Albert Mercadé
Xavier Alcarín
Gisela Chillida
J. A. Martos (Oli)
Isa Mejuto
Zaida Trallero
Photography:
Daniel Pujalte
Arxiu Museu de L’Hospitalet, p. 74
Carlos Maldonado, p. 76
Graphic design:
Oriol Cabarrocas
Guillermo Lucena
Text edit and translation:
Bernat Pujadas (Catalan + spanish)
Alan Moore (English)
Printing:
Agpograf Impresors
ISBN: 978-84-123745-1-3