Mnemonic City Madrid | Mnemonic City

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There is no political manifesto but a political will exists from the moment a group of individuals gathers in the name of freedom, a resistance to any form of oppression, be it so mundane people are no longer aware it is part of their existence. Kronos has trodden the streets and walls of this city under foot and fires still rage in the hearts of those who bite the dust. Goya’s black paintings and Bosch’s Inferno infiltrate the back alleys, the caves, they possess the clandestine and the alienated, and we arrive unexpected, thrown into a minute space to open the voice box of a collective unrest. It all happens in the encounter the nature of which oscillates between discourse, pantomime and protest. This is about story telling, about reversing destinies, about the barricade and the banners, about people talking back, taking a stand, allowing themselves to create a different kind of history. The poets rise in the smoky evening, the lanterns light up the ceiling covered in paintings, an artist approaches someone in the audience, there is a frisson in the air, a connection, a flash, taking the flame from a tired monarch, Prometheus spreads the word of art.

Madrid

Mnemonic City: Madrid (3/4 November 2012)

The Mnemonic City project grew out of a loose collaboration of artists who have worked on a number of different projects under the general identity of Magma Collective. After establishing the concept of Mnemonic City as the central theme for a longer term art project in Plato’s Cave, Mnemonic City: Madrid sees the project hit the road for the first time, with the intention to broaden the creative network beyond London, while also to creatively take in new and unfamiliar contexts. The concept of the exhibition follows the basic set up of the previous show, with artworks of varied media on display, which are complemented by a series of theme related performances that take place in the exhibition space.

Espacio Islandia

‘Double Passage’ by Pascal Ancel Bartholdi

‘I don’t want to know’ by Anna Burel

snapshot of ‘Mnemonic City: Madrid’

Fish eye view of ‘Mnemonic City: Madrid’

‘Projector II’ by Jaime Valtierra

Fish eye view of ‘Mnemonic City: Madrid’

‘Inneres Auge, or a study for the quest of the Third Eye’ by Sisetta Zappone

‘Financial Artwork I’ by Rupert Jaeger and Amos Shein’s ‘Love Cells’

‘Financial Artwork I’ by Rupert Jaeger

Ceiling projection as part of the performance night of Mnemonic City: Madrid

Video still of ‘Emergencia’ by Ines von Bonhorst

From left to righ, top row: some woman, some dude, Yuri Pirondi; bottom row: Jaime Valtierra, Ines von Bonhorst, whats his name and Miguel?

Mnemonic Snapshot of Yuri Pirondi

In true guerrilla style, artworks were transported in a couple of suitcases on a well known European budget airline; and because not all members of the project could personally attend the show, the experimental and interactive spirit of the group was packed into the luggage too. All to make sure Madrilenians will get a good taste of what the Mnemonic Project is all about. Hopefully, this short, and short-noticed, Mnemonic excursion will be not be the last and will give the project an opportunity to explore new directions for growth.

Mnemonic City: Madrid was on show at Espacio Islandia in Madrid, Spain, on the 3/4 of November 2012. Participating artists where Amos Shein, Anna Burel, Ines von Bonhorst, Jaime Valtierra, Pascal Ancel Bartholdi, Rupert Jaeger, Sisetta Zappone and Yuri Pirondi.