“Pulling back the curtain” on the official Francoist history
- Books
- Culture Folder
- Oct 24
- 8 mins
This is not a conventional catalogue. In addition to reviewing the works in the exhibition Un altre fi. La resta. Art i antifranquisme [Another End. The Remainder. Art and Antifranquism], it offers several theoretical reflections based on an exploration of anti-Franco resistance through art and testimonies. It focuses on the dissenting responses expressed through bodies – exiled, imprisoned, persecuted, but above all, stubbornly rebellious. This unusual perspective adds particular value to both the selection of works and the reflections they inspire.
Un altre fi. La resta. Art i antifranquisme is the second catalogue in the series at El Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria and the first in a new exhibition programme launched in 2021 under fresh direction. This catalogue documents the exhibition of the same name, which is no longer running, curated by Nora Ancarola and Amanda Cuesta, who also edited the publication.
The exhibition, which ran from November 2022 to April 2023, took on a bold challenge: to fill the impressive space of El Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria with works that would evoke a sense of collective memory. Although it was not conceived as a commission for “historical memory”, the curators were clear about their aim from the start. As they reaffirm in the catalogue’s introduction, their goal was to “pull back the curtain” on the official narrative of Francoism and shed light on the margins where resistance to the dictatorship had been pushed.
Book cover Un altre fi. La resta. Art i antifranquismeThe catalogue reflects this intention by broadening the range of works to include additional voices that, as the curators put it, help to raise many of the questions that emerged during the exhibition’s production process.
The creation process was, as I can attest, rich in exploration, highly dynamic and evolving while deliberately avoiding conventional or comfortable approaches. This is why the catalogue so effectively captures the diversity of works, authors, generations and perspectives. As a result, the publication provides a theoretical and reflective framework that doubles the political significance of the exhibited works.
In the exhibition and catalogue, the art reveals “the residue” – what still endures from the political repression.
The heart of the exhibition, which inspired its name, comes from a flamenco tango by Miguel Poveda based on a poem by Joan Brossa that calls for “another end” for Franco. Ancarola and Cuesta reinterpret the poem’s words, suggesting “another end” and hoping that art will uncover “the remainder” – that is, what still remains alive from political repression, including its effects and the resistances it generated.
The catalogue reflects the curators’ emotional dedication. They refer to a period that could be seen as vicariously post-traumatic, which they addressed by creating two audiovisual pieces featuring a performance by the MonSter company that both opened and closed the exhibition, proposing “other ends”. They also developed a space dedicated to an audio library with testimonies.
In addition to the introductions, the catalogue begins with a text by Salvador Cayuela that sets the conceptual tone explored by the curators: the effects of the dictatorship on the body and the potential for rewriting alternative endings.
Four thematic areas
The catalogue is organised into four thematic sections that follows the different areas of the exhibition. Dolors Marín Silvestre opens the first section, “Rebels de cor” [Rebels at Heart], with a passionate tribute to the moral and political freedom experienced in the Paral·lel. This sets the context for the works of Dora García, Carles Guerra, Antoni Hervàs and Lola Lasurt, which are presented as central to understanding the resistances expressed through the body.
“El menyspreu dels cossos” [The Disdain of the Body], the second section, features a text by Maite Garbayo-Maeztu and highlights the work of artists such as María Amparo Gomar Vidal, Marco Noris, Jaume Serra Torelló, Joan Anton Serra and Francesc Torres. It focuses on how these artists depict objects and landscapes as vessels for clandestine struggle and exile.
The third section, “El fora interior” [The Inner Outside], begins with a personal text by Brigitte Vasallo on the theme of inner exile, which resonates strongly in the works of Alán Carrasco, Domènec, Ana Teresa Ortega and María Ruido.
The fourth section, “Transmissió i continuïtat” [Transmission and Continuity], begins with a text by Inés Plasencia that explores the connection between colonisation and Francoism. This section is likely to reveal some of the lesser-known aspects of the dictatorship and its impact on Equatorial Guinea, featuring works by Filiberto Obama Nsué and Ndong Obama. This section concludes the exhibition with works by Marcelo Expósito, which both challenge the portrayal of Franco as a kindly grandfather and provide critical perspectives on the 1978 Constitution.
Places of Knowledge and Scientific Exile by Ana Teresa OrtegaEl Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria was also “taken over” by works from Guillem Viladot, Pep Agut and Concha Jerez, who created a special piece for the exhibition.
The catalogue concludes with a valuable epilogue that includes two testimonial texts: one by Consuelo García del Cid, a former resident of a facility run by the Patronato de la Mujer [Women’s Board], and another by Elena Solanas Roig, discussing the injustices suffered by her uncle. There is also a text by Jordi Ramos Ruiz on trauma.
One effect of reading this catalogue is that it ignites a desire to learn more about other persecuted minorities (such as the Roma) and about a dictatorship that drew on the foundational myth of a nation built on “racial purity” and that continues to resurface with each new outbreak of racism, anti-Semitism and attacks on freedoms. Delving into what art and personal testimonies reveal about the dissent of the body is an urgent necessity.
Un altre fi. La resta. Art i antifranquisme.
Nora Ancarola
and Amanda Cuesta (coordination).
“Arts a la ciutat” Collection.
Barcelona City Council, 2024.
152 pages
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