“The past is an immense area of stony ground that many people would like to drive across as if it were a motorway, while others move patiently from stone to stone, lifting each one because they need to know what lies beneath. Sometimes scorpions crawl out or centipedes, fat white caterpillars or ripe chrysalises, but it’s not impossible that, at least once, an elephant might appear. . .” (José Saramago, The Elephant’s Journey)
In 1937 John Dos Passos and Ernest Hemmingway lent their voices to a film entitled The Spanish Earth. Like them many artists, both Spanish and international, dedicated their talent and their creative energy to works that would communicate what they were witnessing during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Today, 75 yeas on, artists are still dedicating their efforts to uncovering the long-term impacts of that war and the ensuing period of dictatorship. In this digging up of the past, and telling the stories that remained silenced for so many years are participating archaeologists, film-makers, and artists as well as researchers. Spain NOW! Proposes to bring together individuals approaching the recovery of memory in Spain from these various angles in a round-table discussion entitled Digging the Spanish Earth. The discussion will explore how the work of literally digging up the past is inspiring Spanish artists to address the issue, and how various art forms including film-making and photography are being used in the process of uncovering.
When: Wed, 16/11/2011
Event Times: 6:30pm
Venue: Spain NOW! Pop Up Space @ The Gallery Soho
Venue Details: 121-125 Charing Cross Road, WC2H 0EW
Participants:
Dr Dacia Viejo-Rose (researcher)
Tom Lavin/Tomas Tuiz-Rivas (artist)
Dr Layla Renshaw (forensic archaeologist)
José Velázquez (documentary maker)
Tracey Moberly (artist)
