James Colomina, underground and anti-slavery

James Colomina's sculptures are installed in the street in a theatrical way to interact with the public. They are often placed in iconic places and create a contrast between the place, the work, and the message they convey. Hypersensitive by nature to what he considers cruel news, James has been feeling the need to create works that make sense, and express through them the irony of the human condition. He deplores the inexorable loneliness of his species, his ease of manipulation, his penchant for self-destruction and intolerance, and he likes to think that his sculptures are disturbing. Impact in a poetic way is, therefore, a means of questioning, of provoking reactions ... With these words, the French artist James Colomina presents himself on his web portal. An author who has just placed a sculpture against slavery recently and "without permission" from Barcelona City Council in the same space where the statue of Antonio López used to be, and which was removed in May 2018 Colomina explained that this is a protest action on the occasion of the anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Spain on January 30.

The sculpture is entitled 'Humanity' and features two red figures embracing each other, depicting a teddy bear and the child inside each adult. According to Colomina: "It is like a symbol of the positive relationship between the difference where skin color, gender, race and religion would be perceived as a wealth," he added. In fact, Antonio López's enslaving past is the reason that led to the removal of his statue and also the change of name of the square, which still bears the name and has already been approved. Municipal funds have confirmed that the artist did not have a municipal permit to install the sculpture, although they have added that, for the time being, they will leave it where it is "like other samples of ephemeral art that are made in the city".

L'obra "clandestina"