ALUNIZADA FLIGHT

"EL VUELO" THE FLIGHT, Carabassi beach, Alicante 2003.

“Alunizada” is a series of works created between 2001 and 2003 and whose theme revolves around the idea of flying.

Drawing, photography, video and performance were the props used during that time, to give shape to a restlessness, a dream or at times (many times) to an obsession which made me understand why I decided to study Fine arts… to be able to fly!!

In that moment I flew – literally, but it is indisputable that Art is a good medium to experience it emotionally. Somehow, from then on, the pleasure and the intensity of the experience determined the way I would immerse myself in future projects.

The name of the project “Alunizada” was chosen for its original meaning alunizar (to land on the moon) and from a word game which I found with the word alucinada (hallucinated) as a mockery of my clear obsession with this theme.

From this project came numerous drawings and sketches that recreate the idea of flying with different characters and situations together with calculations and the designs of the devices.

Photographs and videos also show how the gadgets cruise the sky with or without passengers or how the spectators were left open-mouthed, caught up in the emotion of the launches. Only then were we convinced that these gadgets could fly.

“El vuelo” - The Flight, was the last piece in the series and the culmination of a very long process of investigation and creation, in which of particular importance was the reflexion on the need for freedom that individuals feel today and, despite appearances, still do not enjoy.

It is clear that the action of flying is an undisputed symbol of freedom when the act in itself is not and that is why, although “alunizada” is inspired by the romantic spirits of the pioneers of the XVIII Century, it’s not just a simple recreation of those times, but a contemporary creation and as such, a reflection of the feeling within the act.

It is not just an allegory of flying, as in the splendid creations of many other artists, but it is the action or the fact in itself to me, it seems, that sustains the madness and the strength of the piece, without of course ignoring the visual result of the elements used. The Modesty and simplicity of the materials chosen for construction of the aerostats both symbolize and question the need for scientific and technological advances that, although in many cases are beneficial, in turn overwhelm the individual to such an extent that it hampers their ability to think and see clearly.

Another important aspect while working on project “alunizada” and especially when I approached “el vuelo”, was the sensation of recreating the same impulses in the fight for the conquest of space as Otto Lilienthal or the Montgolfier brothers or any of the other (male of course) flying pioneers did.

My flight was made with primitive but effective means and I was very conscious of vindicating a role that women could not occupy in the past. Because of this, my action in flying was also a nod and a spear in the fight for freedom and women’s rights, back them and now.

In almost every work in this series, public participation is both looked for and essential. Although it is a work born from a personal restlessness, it is not a work born to be exhibited and admired, but to be constructed and shared by all as it takes form and meaning with the reactions, surprise and emotions of spectators. Though perhaps not all of the onlookers might understand why this is called Art, and some would deny that it is, what is surprising is that all remained until the last minute, clapping, smiling and getting excited with me.

Fortunately, in some contemporary artistic works that require the participation of the public, the communication that Art looks for comes naturally, overcoming the differences in language between Art and society.

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