The provocative artist Eugenio Merino "resurrects" Lorca in an installation about the Spanish Civil War. The installation features a cement bench with the poet's sculpture buried inside, and will be open to the public from September 19 to November 9.
On September 19, Barcelona’s ADN Gallery will inaugurate Banco Público (Public Bench), an installation by artist Eugenio Merino.
The piece delves into the political ideology of Federico García Lorca and how it has been instrumentalized from the Francoist era to the current democracy. The research behind the installation is based on numerous interviews, manifestos, and conferences Lorca gave during his life, compiled over the years by his official biographer, Ian Gibson, as well as other figures like Víctor Fernández and Rafael Inglada.
The installation consists of a cement bench with a sculpture of Federico García Lorca buried inside. The same Lorca sculpture was featured at the Memoria Gallery in Madrid between March and May of this year, depicted underground and covered by a walkable glass surface. In this version, the monument is buried and concealed within the cement, inviting visitors to sit on it—an allegory of Spanish society sitting on the crimes of the past.
The installation aims to shed light on the repression of the thousands of disappeared individuals and highlight the absence of Lorca's body and voice, of which no recordings remain. In the exhibition space, a recording by actor Juan Diego Botto plays, featuring fragments of interviews and conferences by Lorca, selected by journalist and Lorca expert Víctor Fernández from various books.
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September 18, 2024
