Pilar Aymerich: revolution and intimacy

A new retrospective of Pilar Aymerich brings us closer to the work of one of the most important photographers of our time. Intimate and reflective, she documented everything from the social struggles of the late Franco regime to the most everyday and humane scenes.

The Art Center Tecla Sala de l'Hospitalet de Llobregat hosts 'Pilar Aymerich. Living memory' until March, and is a tribute, through more than 150 images, to the professional career of this Barcelona photographer. The exhibition, curated by Neus Miró, is a zigzagging journey through Aymerich's visual universe, from the 1960s to the present day. Aymerich captured reality with particular subtlety and wanted to move away from flashy cameras or more intrusive photojournalism.

Born in 1943, she trained in theater direction at the Adrià Gual School of Dramatic Art and, after a period in London and France, decided to return to Barcelona to delve into the world of photography. His career began at the end of the 60s, right at the height of the Franco dictatorship and in the cradle of the Transition. His images, published in magazines such as Serra d'Or or Triunfo, have always been a mixture of narrative strength and emotion.

Camp d'entrenament de les milícies territorials a Cuba, Pilar Aymerich (1982)

In the exhibition we also discover a more unknown Aymerich. Included are unpublished photographs taken in Havana in 1982 and the project 'Travels in Havana', carried out with the historian Isabel Segura. In addition, portraits of artists such as Josep Pla, Oriol Bohigas and Neus Català are on display, as well as photographs of characters from Barcelona's nightlife in the 70s and of the interior of La Trinitat women's prison. In this context, the exhibition also vindicates the figure of Pilar Aymerich as a feminist, humanist and activist. The demonstrations, strikes, celebrations and various social movements of the 70s that he portrayed, became a witness to the fight for freedom in a country that was beginning to wake up after decades of dictatorship.

Josep Pla al Mas de Llofriu, Pilar Aymerich (1972)

Tecla Sala also screens the film Entreacto, in which Pilar Aymerich appears. This work is a critique of the Franco regime and is presented through the eyes of young artists who are fighting for their freedom of expression. To avoid censorship, some of the dialogue was edited backwards. The film, which had fallen into oblivion for years, has been restored thanks to the work of the Filmoteca de Catalunya. It now stands as a key testament to the cultural resistance of the time and the creative difficulties artists had to face.

With this retrospective, the Tecla Sala Art Center offers us the possibility of rediscovering stories and testimonies through the eyes of Aymerich, which force us to look back for a while and better understand the path that has led us to this day.

Manifestació d'amnistia per a la dona a Barcelona, Pilar Aymerich (1977)