Francesc Torres reflects on the war in El Born CCM

Francesc Torres reflects on the war through the symbolic language of art in the installation La maldat bovenado at El Born Center for Culture and Memory (El Born CCM). Welcome Evil can be visited for free in the main lobby of El Born CCM until May 26. The work is the prologue to the temporary exhibition Why, the war?, scheduled for March 2024.

At first glance, you see a military ambulance from the second half of the 20th century parked against a concrete wall. Between both elements, there is an egg that is held by the pressure exerted between the vehicle and the wall. The egg becomes the center of the installation and whether the ambulance moves forward or backwards, the egg will break. "The piece exists in an intermediate territory, reflecting an extremely precarious balance in the same way that everything that maintains peace before war begins is precarious", said Francesc Torres in a statement.

You can also see a photograph that occupies one of the faces of the concrete wall in La maldat bovenda. In the image, taken by Eugene Smith in 1944 during the Pacific War, you can see a soldier holding a baby in his hands. The installation is also made up of an audiovisual and a large-format image that give the installation an immersive character. Upon entering the center, the visitor walks over a photograph of a dead Ukrainian civilian who fell down while riding a bicycle. And when he approaches the ambulance he sees that a video is being played inside that alternates harsh war images with scenes of a mother breastfeeding her child.

Welcome Evil can be visited for free in the main lobby of El Born CCM until May 26, 2024.

The installation The welcome evil and the program Why, the war? they are curated by Marta Marín-Dòmine, former director of El Born CCM, and Jordi Font Agulló, director of the Democratic Memorial.