Duncan Gibbs
Ilana Halperin
la musea
Quim Packard
Alejandra Pombo
Francesc Ruiz Abad
Batia Suter
Ryan Thompson
curated by Caterina Almirall
15 May - 14 July, 2018
Can Felipa Arts Visuals
Pallars, 277
08005 Barcelona
08005 Barcelona
www.cccanfelipa.cat
The use of magic involves the use of language.
Whether uttered out loud or in thoughts, words are used to access or guide
magical power. The connection between language and magic represents a certain
belief in the inherent ability that words have to influence the universe. Aiming
to explain magic within a context defined by the function of language that
wishes to have an impact on the environment, the objects, the present beings as
well as those who are not present. We understand magic as the search for
something that remains hidden from our faculties and our understanding, the
ability to connect with other ways of understanding the world, of transcending
the limits of what is human, ordinary or known.
A spell is an action that entails a symbol or
rite, normally along with a spoken formula aiming to attract or ward off an
invisible power. To invoke means inciting something to reveal itself; a spirit,
a ghost, a demon, an energy... summoned by the invocation of a sacred name, an
act or by magical means. The symbols used in spells can be objects "lucky
charms", amulets, relics, signals and actions employed to cast a spell or
to give a blessing.
The concept of a spell acts as a reflection on
our everyday environment; we conjure so as to adapt our words to the world.
Magic is a form of connection between the natural world and the cultural world,
and the spell is the attempt to control what is unknown. Words and stories are
a way of organising the world in order to inhabit, control and understand it.
An exhibition is a device to help stimulate and reflect upon the consequences
of interaction between language and the world, and thus where artistic practice
transversely allows us to understand the mechanisms of knowledge and the world’s
structuring.
An exhibition is a physical and temporary
experience where concepts and ideas are brought together, invoking what the
intangible through the tangible. Taking over the shape of a story, the
exhibition has the power to grant things certain names and measures, within the
specific context of the hall but in reference to a common world. Each object is
tailored to the others, and we are also tailored to these objects, which is why
we can reflect upon the connection with the surrounding in a constitutive way.
An exhibition is, in the end, a ritual in which we decide to participate.
Credits:
EXHIBITION
Artists: Duncan Gibbs, Ilana Halperin, la musea, Quim
Packard, Alejandra Pombo, Francesc Ruiz Abad, Batia Suter and Ryan Thompson
Curated by:
Caterina Almirall
Coordination: Joana
Hurtado
Installation
technician: Marc Quintana
Graphic design: Durana
Monguilod
PUBLICATION
Edition: Centre Cívic Can
Felipa
Texts: Caterina Almirall
English translation: Josephine M. Halpin
Graphic design: Durana
Monguilod
Print: Newsapaper Club
Ajuntament de Barcelona, with the collaboration of
OCA (office for Contemporary Art Norway)