Francesc Ruíz: 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days

Shmoos are fictional characters from a comic strip by Al Capp created in 1948. Friendly creatures, their greatest joy is to be eaten by humans, which would eliminate the need to work and the incessant search for food. Their existence, which should be a utopia for humans, becomes, at the same time, the worst nightmare of the capitalist system.

Vic has a long tradition of the meat industry, although in recent years some of these work centers have been transformed into cultural and community centers. '3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days', by Francesc Ruiz , has the ACVIC as its center. But, as in his expanded comics, this exhibition occupies unexpected places linked to this sector, such as the tanneries, recently restored, or the Museum of Leather Art.

At the core of the exhibition, at the ACVIC, a mural represents shmoos in landscapes of Vic related to this industry. In the side room, a calendar gives the exhibition its name: three months, three weeks and three days is the gestation period of a sow. The calendar is illustrated with sexualized images of shmoos inspired by Hentai. There are also images of milk, eggs or butter, foods produced by shmoos and which also refer to The Sexual Politics of Meat, by Carol Adams, a classic of anti-speciesist feminist literature, which calls these products "feminized proteins".

Vista de l'exposició '3 mesos, 3 setmanes, 3 dies'. Foto: Roberto Ruiz. Cortesia de ACVIC Centre d’Arts Contemporànies

The exhibition continues in the tanneries. There, the old calendars with images of naked women, used by the workers, are replaced by other calendars, now with images of shmoos in the process of shedding their skin.

Ruiz concludes this exhibition, which can be visited until January 21, at the Museum of Leather Art through a graphic guide, offering an alternative visit to the permanent collection of objects made with leather, with which he raises uncomfortable questions about the violence carried out in these spaces. '3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days' highlights, from the supposed innocence of a comic character, the existing frictions between the excessive consumption of meat, still too prevalent and associated with a heteropatriarchal and speciesist system, and the new realities that advocate for the defense of the environment and more responsible consumption.

Francesc Ruiz does this, as is common in his work, using comics as a tool, weaving fictional stories that make latent conflicts visible.

Vista de l'exposició '3 mesos, 3 setmanes, 3 dies'. Foto: Roberto Ruiz. Cortesia de ACVIC Centre d’Arts Contemporànies