Jordi Colomer
Prohibido Cantar / No Singing
Didactic work on the foundation of
a paradise city
September 14–December 31, 2012
Abierto x Obras / Matadero Madrid
Legazpi, 8
28045 Madrid, Spain
‘It’s easier getting gold out of men than from rivers.’
–Bertolt Brecht, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, 1927–30
The foundation of a city is not necessarily a heroic act. Every day a new city begins to be built on water, concrete, sweat and money. Some are–almost–a pure idea. In his election manifesto, president Juscelino Kubitschek promised the creation of a modern capital for Brazil in three years; Brasilia was built amongst the weeds of the high central plane, faithfully following the plans of Lucio Costa. At the same time, the builders, who came on foot from all parts of the country, pitched their trembling huts where they slept and founded–without knowing it–their own city.
There are glass cities that grow out of offices and others made from tin and card that dance to the rhythm of their own inhabitants. On one occasion, a group of outlaws were being tailed by the police when their truck broke down in the middle of the desert. They couldn’t keep going or turn back, so they ended up founding a paradise city, the golden city, where the worst crime was not to have any money. That city was called Mahagonny and Bertolt Brecht envisioned it at the time when Las Vegas came about, shaping the image of the city that we recognise today.
In Prohibido cantar / No Singing a few characters make a gambling den where they offer entertainment games, tricks, love and food at low prices. The action takes place close to a dusty road, on the same plot of land and during the time in which a great private city with 32 casinos was planned. Called Gran Escala, it was to attract 25 million visitors, yet it never saw the light of day. These images reveal how the city of Eurofarlete thrives under a blazing sun and strong blowing winds. Fragments of what passed there over two days may help to discern the particular form of organisation needed for survival, where everything is on sale at a bargain price or indeed at any price.
Jordi Colomer (b. 1962, Barcelona)
His work explores the possibility of poetic survival that is offered by the contemporary metropolis through a unique vision of sculpture, incorporating scenic devices, photography and video installation. Prohibido Cantar / No Singing returns to investigate the tension between project and fiction and creates a hybrid space on both a physical and mental plane. He has been educated in art, art history and architecture. Among his latest solo shows are l’Avenir, Palais de Beaux Arts (Brussels); What will come, Argos Centre for Art and Media (Brussels); Co Op City, Bronx Museum of the Arts (New York); Fuegogratis, Laboratorio Arte Alameda (México D.F.); La Panera (Lleida), and Galerie du Jeu de Paume (Paris).
