Battersea 2050

Born out of a conceptual collaboration with Aaron and Will, Battersea 2050 is the new and unexpected continuation to the Battersea Power Station Series, as of today a quadriptych.

Following on the theme of excess and energy I decided to take this new entry to the extreme and it is larger and denser than the other three. On the ‘A Catalan Weekend in London’ private view night Aaron challenged me to envision a future for Battersea and suggested year 2050 for the next milestone on the history of the famous London landmark. Borrowing from Will’s comment about a shift in the power source, this time it’s London what’s nourishing a reborn Battersea, satirised as a  carefree hyper powered revamped power station – now a leisure venue of some sort.

The London side has two new addition rows to the cast of characters from previous entries. Behind the Victorian houses, housing tower blocks and functional office buildings now stands the stardom of designer architecture of corporate present day London. From the back row towers over a line-up of hypothetical organic megastructures functioning as vertical districts in order to tackle overcrowding. The unmistakable city skyline has been redefined for good. By this 2050 plugs are bygone and everything runs wireless. Energy is generated by a zombified society that now powers a delighted Battersea set to entertain with fireworks of pure joy. Due to the climate change it also grows palm trees on its top.

Battersea Power Station – 2050

707x1220 mm

Acrylic paint, Indian ink and colour pencil on board. 

A Catalan Weekend in London – Aftermath

It's been already a week since the Catalan weekend happened at Rich Mix. There was some delicious food and drinks that livened up the opening party and in turn made me feel homesick. But also, some interesting screenings like cinematographer Xavi Amoros's music video for Fyfe Dangerfield.

I very much enjoyed Mireia Ros's documentary 'Barcelona, abans que el temps ho esborri', about the golden age of Catalan bourgeoisie through the rise and fall of the Baladia family, the first to introduce the locomotive in Spain in mid XIX century. It helped me understand the past and in some ways the present of Barcelona and the Costa Brava, the coastal region of the North East of Catalonia.

Photos by Sin Fin Cinema. Artwork by Pau Ros and Lidia Casas.

A CATALAN WEEKEND IN LONDON

Here's the flyer of A CATALAN WEEKEND IN LONDON, the first instalment of a series of events exploring Spanish cultural identity and linguistic diversity curated by Sin Fin Cinema.

I am lucky to have been selected to represent Catalan new tendencies this weekend at Rich Mix. I will be exhibiting some of my architecture illustration and animation work together with established artists in the fields of photography, video and music, among others.

Catalonia is an autonomous region in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula, roughly outlined by the Pyrenees, the Mediterranean Sea, and the regions of Aragon and Valencia which formerly were part of the Kingdom of Aragon. Its capital is Barcelona, the second largest city in Spain after Madrid and my hometown.

But that's in a very tiny nutshell. Come down to Rich Mix on the 1st and 2nd of June if you want to get a glimpse of the past, present and future of Catalonia. There's so much to know!

Check out the programme here.

Battersea Power Station

Let's start with some fun facts... Did you know that Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect behind Battersea Power Station also designed the famous red telephone box and Bankside Power Station (aka Tate Modern)? And that his grandfather is responsible of St Giles Church in Camberwell? Yes, that church that sells booze in its crypt. Little it matters when one looks at the neglected ruin that is Battersea Station today... How could that happen to one of London's architecture myths?

This triptych is meant to satirize the decline of Battersea from a top-notch power station to a derelict site in its 53 years at London's service supplying electricity. Its demise was probably due to facilities becoming outdated and the overtaking of more efficient fuels (like nuclear power) rather than coal fire. However to me it looks like an early example of resources exhaustion due to let's call it progress. Will happen quite often in the future.

The set was produced for the solo exhibition I had last June at the Stables Gallery and makes the first original artwork in the architecture themed works. Continuing with the spirit of the Market Estate murals, I wanted to work on construction materials, in this case plywood sheets and experiment with textures. I'm really happy with the combination of wood streaks and acrylic paint so plan to take it further with more works.

Battersea Power Station Triptych

1955 - Acrylic and indian ink over waxed wood / 60.7 x 122 cm

1965 - Acrylic and indian ink over waxed wood / 60.7 x 122 cm

1985 - Acrylic and indian ink over waxed wood / 60.7 x 122 cm