Exhibitions

Les petites coses (The Small Things)

Exhibition by Alba G. Corral,commissioned by Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana

GRANOLLERS
Roca Umbert Fàbrica de les Arts
La Tèrmica – Carrer d’Enric Prat de la Riba, 77

From September 8, to November 24

‘Les petites coses’ (Little Things) is an abstract, generative audiovisual piece created through programming algorithms. The work takes its name from statements made by Montse Cruz, one of the few women who worked in the chemical laboratory of the Roca Umbert textile factory. Montse shared with the artist Alba G. Corral her experience working in the chemical lab, a dark and gloomy space with a peculiar iron scent that permeated the air.

In the laboratory, Montse performed delicate and essential chemical tasks for the factory, such as collecting water samples for analysis from La Tèrmica, the power station that supplied energy to the entire factory. As the only woman with access to the building, she describes the experience of entering that room as dark and gloomy, with an iron-scented charm that seemed to make time stand still. The piece aims to transform this darkness into light and life, highlighting the little things that, as Montse noted, were performed by the few women who worked there. These tasks required meticulous attention and care, focusing on the details.

By using meticulously crafted generative algorithms and graphics, the piece captures the beauty and vitality of the small things that often go unnoticed. These algorithms serve as an analogy to the chemical recipes used to analyze water components or cotton strength: recipes and processes that follow a series of steps and rules, similar to the execution of programming algorithms.