What happens when a crucifix shares space with a Spiderman? Or when a virgin ends up next to a toy or an appliance in a second-hand market? For the Barcelona artist Gastón Lisak, these objects have not ceased to have value: they have simply changed context.
And it is precisely this change that gives meaning to Santos y Mercaderes, an exhibition at B-Murals, in the Sagrera neighborhood of Barcelona, which invites reflection on memory, consumption, and the way we re-signify objects over time. "I work a lot with objects. I understand the market as a learning space," explains Lisak.
A professor at Elisava, he has been visiting second-hand markets in Catalonia, Morocco, and around the world for years. Among all the finds, there is a constantly recurring presence: religious imagery. Figures of saints, virgins, or crucifixes that have left behind their original function to enter a new resale circuit. Unfortunately, many end up at Encants or, directly, in the trash. And this is where Lisak comes in, rescuing them and offering them a new interpretation. Giving them a second life through art and converting them, once again, into pieces capable of generating questions and debate.
Behind every object, a story
The artist feels a special fascination for these objects because they tell very intimate stories. Many people who visit the exhibition say they immediately recognize themselves in them. "I also had one like that at home," they often tell him. This is because each piece preserves the memory of a family, a devotion, or a moment in life.
The exhibition is divided into two spaces. The first presents a selection of images and objects that introduce the conceptual universe of the project. The second is an immersive installation that invites the visitor to take off their shoes before entering a large red carpet transformed into a contemporary altar. It is here that the exhibition reaches its climax. The goal is for each visitor to build their own experience and draw their own conclusions. "It's not an exhibition to be looked at, but an exhibition to be lived," says Lisak.
In the center of the room also hang numerous religious figures, many from Olot, a city closely linked to the production of religious imagery thanks to Arte Cristiano, from where a good part of the saints, Virgins, and nativity scene figures found in homes and churches throughout Catalonia have come. During the documentation process, Lisak visited this heritage to better understand the origin of many of the pieces that still form part of the Catalan religious imaginary today.
An experimental proposal by B-Murals
B-Murals is a center specialized in urban art based at Nau Bostik in Sant Andreu that offers support for creation, promoting mural interventions, residencies, and exhibitions, but also fosters community work.
The exhibition of Santos y Mercaderes is part of the W-CUB3 cycle, B-Murals' annual proposal dedicated to the most experimental projects. Each year, the gallery reserves this space to invite an artist to develop an installation created specifically for the room.
Joan Martí i Ventura, coordinator of artistic projects at B-Murals, explains to AMIC Cultura that this year they were looking for a creator capable of bringing into the gallery a perspective closely linked to public space and further removed from the mural art proposals often worked on at this Barcelona art center: "Lisak's work, built from objects found on the street and in second-hand markets, blurs the lines between urban art and the exhibition space, transforming the room into an immersive experience."
The project has been curated by Antonella Medici and Mariella Franzoni, two researchers with whom Gastón Lisak shares a long career linked to research and teaching. This complicity, explains the artist, has been key to building an exhibition that goes beyond the simple presentation of objects. "There is no single reading. Everyone will approach it from their own experience," he assures.
Santos y Mercaderes can be visited until September 19 at B-Murals. You just need to take off your shoes and let yourself be carried away by a universe where saints coexist with superheroes and where objects that seemed to have lost their value now tell a new story.
