Paper Tears is an installation of light, sound, image and choreography with a central element: an archive of watermarks or watermarks—drawings visible only against the light on a piece of paper—currently preserved in the Capellades Paper Mill Museum. Based on a selection of filigrees from the 15th century, Claudia Pagès Rabal opens a dialogue between past and present and evokes a time of historical transition, when Mediterranean trade declines and Atlantic routes expand, initiating European modernity and extractive colonial systems. In this context, territories such as Venice and Catalonia had a relevant role in a transformation that still shapes our reality today.
The presence of Catalan culture in the Venice Art Biennale contributes to strengthening its international projection and making it visible in one of the artistic spaces of reference on a global scale. In this sense, the Minister of Culture, Sònia Hernández, has reaffirmed “the commitment of the Government of the Generalitat to Catalan creation, its internationalization, support to artists and culture as a space for dialogue and transformation and engine of critical thinking, essential to face the challenges of the present and the future“.
Hernández has affirmed that the proposal of Claudia Pagès, Paper Tears“connects heritage, memory and critical reflection on systems of knowledge and power“. “It is an exhibition deeply linked to the industrial history of Catalonia through paper and water, an element that here, in Venice, acquires a special symbolism“, he added.
Finally, the Minister of Culture highlighted the work of the Ramon Llull Institute, “that makes the presence of Catalonia in Venice possible and that, in a transversal way, promotes production spaces, artistic residencies and circuits for the international diffusion of Catalan culture“.
For her part, the director of the Ramon Llull Institute, Anna Guitart, has put the emphasis on the construction of the story of artistic excellence that implies the continued presence in the Biennale: “Catalonia in Veniceyear after year, contributes to consolidating a narrative of contemporary Catalan and Balearic artistic creation, which brings reflection and dialogue to the international cultural ecosystem“.
In addition, he emphasized that “for the Ramon Llull Institute, support projects like Paper Tears by Claudia Pagès Rabal demonstrates our commitment to the international diffusion of Catalan and Balearic artists and their works, without losing the link with a proper context and understanding culture as a space of complexity. We will continue working to position our creators in relevant international contexts“.
Paper Tears unfolds through multiple points of view, oscillating between the collective narrative and the singular experience. Four lasers project onto the walls of the space an evolving archive of 15th century watermarks and hand-made animations by Claudia Pagès Rabal. Elise Lammer, curator of the exhibition, has highlighted that “the watermarks are almost invisible, and that is precisely the point. They remind us that power rarely operates on the surface. It is integrated into systems that circulate silently and only becomes visible under certain conditions. In this sense, by tracing its material origins and production processes, which are deeply intertwined with water, Pagès Rabal reveals how these structures are both physical and symbolic, and how they continue to shape the present“.
In the center of the installation there is a 10 meter screen, with LED panels on which a video filmed in various places in Catalonia, defined by the presence and movement of water, is projected. It includes a variety of environments ranging from fountains to riverbeds and different infrastructures. In this video you can also see several characters who, based on a dramaturgy created by the Catalan artist, address events that happened during the years in which the watermarks were made and which, as she explained, “they lead us to talk about now and generate monologues about euphemisms in language, about boycotts, about universal visions and individual quantums and about the impact that all this has and how it is reflected in our bodies“.
Catalan participation in the Venice Biennale demonstrates the commitment of the Department of Culture to the promotion of contemporary artistic creation and its international projection. In this sense, Claudia Pagès Rabal’s proposal also exemplifies the will to strengthen digital culture, integrating scenic, visual and technological languages.
The Ramon Llull Institute organizes and produces Catalonia in Venicethe participation of Catalan culture in the Collateral Event of La Biennale di Venezia. It has been present at the Art Biennial since 2009 and the Architecture Biennial since 2012.
This year, it is also worth noting that the Spanish pavilion presents The resta Catalan project Oriol Vilanovaartist, and Carlos Guerracommissioner
