La travesia

The installation is composed of three parts, made in different media. The journey begins with the following phrase from the Iliad: “Y dejando las armaduras en el fértil suelo, se pararon muy cerca los unos de los otros” [Translation: And leaving their armor on the fertile ground, they stood very close to one another]. The project alludes to the difficult path of return toward peace by the actors of the conflict, after having lived decades of armed confrontation.

First part. Thresholds Installation. The viewer must walk through a narrow, long, claustrophobic space. On each side of this passage, we find numerous doors leaning against the walls. They are used doors that have been extracted from demolished family homes. Toward the end of the corridor, there is the only door that can be opened.

Second part. Video installation. A set of scenes is presented where a blind person carries on their back another person, who is missing a leg, traversing a territory that is sometimes deserted, sometimes hostile. Supported by their mutual limitations and possibilities, they manage to advance with difficulty, slowly recognizing one another. The scenes do not follow a script; rather, they propose an emotional and sensory atmosphere.

Third part. In a third room, a video projection presents a domestic scene: the laundry sink of a country house, behind which there is a window overlooking the countryside. In front of the window, on the clothesline, three garments dry in the wind and suggest to us who its inhabitants are. Nothing special happens. From inside the house one hears the wind moving the foliage and the songs of farm birds mixed with sounds produced by domestic chores. The water falling softly in the basin of the laundry sink.