The desert of Olga Solà

Textile artist Olga Solà presents Desert, an installation inaugurated last week at the Aparador 22 space in Girona. The work invites us to reflect on the relationship between time and silence, as well as the delicate connection between memories and hope. Through a composition that dialogues with matter and symbolism, Solà constructs a visual narrative that connects two seemingly opposite horizons: that of a past full of history and that of a future yet to be written.

The central axis of the installation are the remains of an ancient saddlebag of the Qashqai tribes, nomadic peoples who traveled the stony paths of the Zagros Mountains, from the Caucasus to southern Iran. These objects, full of memory and functionality, tell stories of displacement and survival, of knowledge transmitted from generation to generation through the fabric. In contrast, the installation also highlights the fiber itself in its pure state, without predefined marks or meanings.

© Pau Pumarola

Solà explores the duality of wool, a humble yet powerful material, witness to an almost forgotten tradition that, at the same time, reclaims its creative and sustainable potential. Despite having fallen into the background with modernization and industrialization, today it is making a strong comeback, reclaiming its place in the contemporary artistic dialogue.

The Aparador 22 space, where this installation is exhibited, was born in 2013 as an initiative of the Ad'Art association in collaboration with Llibreria 22. This project has transformed one of the bookstore's windows into a small art gallery, hosting exhibitions by local and international artists and encouraging interaction between creators from different backgrounds.

© Pau Pumarola