[fusion_text]Ejercicios para crecer 2015. Ceramic paste, fiberglass, iron, and wood. 23 x 30 x 4 m.
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EXERCISES TO GROW
Things are not worth the time they last, but the mark they leave. Arabic proverb
Monique Bastiaans designed this work so that anyone who visits the square can contribute to the creation of this installation and participate with their own hands by modeling the spike at the top of the reeds with clay.
Origins, tradition, and modernity meet and coexist in this work and in this plaza, witness to a new offering.
Each individual piece is installed in the complex, up to a total of 4,200 pieces that make up the work, thus making many citizens and tourists co-participants in this offering to Nature and Culture.
Together we plant a field of fertility, abundance and hope.
The work is directly inspired by the architecture of the Alhambra in Granada.
The decorative element most used by the architects of the Alhambra was the ataurique or vegetal decoration, characteristic of Islamic art.
Lattices are another important and ubiquitous element, separating spaces and creating atmospheres that, when exposed to sunlight, create mystery.
The pattern that forms the basis and supports the entire work is derived from the latticework of the door to the Patio de los Arrayanes in the Alhambra. More precisely, it is the opening of this latticework.
This, although seemingly distant concepts, brings us directly to Valencia, where Muslim culture, architecture, and infrastructure still endure in our daily lives.
In this representation of the importance of origins and traditions, the value of craftsmanship, of manual labor, of art, takes on complete meaning.
Return to our origins, to the land, to what is genuine, to our hands, so we can continue growing and looking to the future, to innovate and grow.
This intervention fosters public participation and interaction as fundamental elements, conveying feelings of community and unity in contrast to current individualism.
The uniqueness of each spike, of each imprint, gives the entire work a natural appearance, marking the difference between the mechanical and the human.
This barley field also hides its symbolism. The fountain in the Plaza de la Virgen represents the figure of Neptune, symbolizing the Túria River, and the naked women surrounding him represent the eight irrigation ditches of the Vega de Valencia.
Here we return once again to our roots, the Muslims, who brought us the irrigation system and taught us how to farm.
Due to its size, only an aerial view reveals the latticework that merges with the geometric shapes that cover the surface of the Plaza de la Virgen.
Within the complex of the intervention, a labyrinth, areas for walking, resting, and socializing are formed.
Sponsored by: Alhambra Beers, Ideo, Vicente Diez.
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