UV print on double-layered cast vinyl over an MDF structure.
_identityMapping _materialArchive _materialLibrary _marketViolence _popularTextures _publicSpace _simbolicResitence _subalternArchitecture _urbanDisplacement
The expansion of Subway Line 11, the rising cost of rent, the touristic boom, and the construction of real estate developments aimed at high rents have plunged the Arganzuela neighborhood (Madrid) into a deep gentrification process. This situation of economic violence slowly transforms the social landscape: businesses and their products change, the use of public space is modified, and services are reconfigured to meet the demands of new residents under the expectation of maximizing profitability. While some neighbors celebrate these changes, others see their quality of life decline due to the widespread increase in prices; some attempt to organize protests, and others are forced to close their businesses or eventually leave. Along with the people, the neighborhood’s identifying signs and the cultural logics that have defined the district over recent decades simply vanish.
Because of this, I aim to create a photographic record of the neighborhood’s current physiognomy through its architectural elements, the communicative features of its establishments, and the traces of public space usage, creating an archive of the neighborhood’s material and symbolic identity, a tribute to the popular textures that describe its daily life, and to the patina of everyday affairs that reflect the aspirations, concerns, social class, and ways of inhabiting the neighborhood’s residents.
Following this, I apply these images to various volumetric structures—three-dimensional primitives—thus restoring the spatial dimension of these identity signs and allowing them to inhabit other spaces. In doing so, I aim for a modest act of resistance.
Iteration 01. Artist Proof.
The research into the printing method and the production of the first piece in this project were made possible through the Ekoiztu 2025 Production Grant, Huarte Art Center.
3D renders for other Iteration 01 pieces and sketches for upcoming iterations.