EVANESCENCE OF THE WORD  © 2005

Evanescence of the word, 2005         
Boatex, flixelin, wood, methacrylate, dibond, light, wax, iron.
Variable measurements
Monastery of Santa María la Real de Nájera, La Rioja

Library as a place for reflection, book as a container of knowledge, desk as a context for words. Based on these three elements, the project "The evanescence of the word" has been developed.

The library is understood as a place of recollection and reflection, a place for knowledge and a container of memories and knowledge. With a specific location, Santa María la Real de Nájera, this library aims to represent the spirituality and inner world contained in the monastery, but also its presence in the outside world through the dissemination of knowledge.

The dimensions, distribution and formalisation of the constituent elements of the installation are designed to create a space for rest, reflection and learning. The different shelves represent book spines, of unequal lengths, inside which (formally, the spine of the book) are placed other smaller books, whose arrangement generates an irregular weave along the entire wall. Made of a tactile material, boatex, and of a neutral colour, white, the moving profile of the spines and pages generates an empty, tactile projection screen. The blank books symbolise the knowledge that is yet to come but also the knowledge that has faded with the passage of time, like those codices where the ink is barely perceptible due to the wear and tear suffered over the years.

In a secluded, dark, low-lit environment, the desk assumes the role of a magnet, thanks to the mystery generated by its opacity and transparency. Like an enormous light box, the urban layout of the surroundings of Santa María la Real de Nájera folds horizontally and vertically, as if it were an exercise in urban origami. Made of aluminium, the urban voids have been occupied by the transparency of wax, as if hundreds of candles, original sources of light, had left their memory of the passage of time in the streets of the city, capturing in their solidification the evanescence of time and of the word.

CREDITS::

Conceptualisation: Esther Pizarro / ICN Artea
Production: Esther Pizarro

EXHIBITED IN::

Monasterio de Santa María la Real de Nájera, Temporary installation in the context of the exhibition "La Rioja, Tierra Abierta. Medieval Legacy. Civita Dei". La Rioja. Interpretative project: ICN Artea, May-October 2005.