Starting June 28, three artists (Marieke Leene, Jose Manuel Spínola and Ola Korbańska, along with curator and leader Ron van Roosmalen and organizer Paulina Almeida) embark on a 10 day journey from Águeda to Jelsa, utilizing the means of transportation of bicycles, trains, boats and ferries. From July 8 until July 20, the artists reside in Jelsa, where they work on different site-specific, performative pieces, video and pop-up installations to be exibited in kala during the Jelsa Art Biennial.
DIAGONAL is a fixed route, defined a priori by a professional guide, which incorporates train networks, in a single-stage journey without outside support, which starts in Águeda, crosses the Pyrenees, before taking participants along the Mediterranean, to the island of Hvar. The clock is ticking and there are no prizes. It follows gravel trails, single and double tracks and old via ferrata, which have long been forgotten and abandoned. There is very little asphalt. There is some walking and sometimes the distances between refueling points are long.
WHEN: June 28 to July 20, 2023
WHERE: It starts in Águeda and ends in Jelsa, Croatia.
WHO: Marieke Leene, Jose Manuel Spínola, Ola Korbańska, Ron van Roosmalen, Paulina Almeida.
DISTANCE: 2700 kilometers with a maximum climb of 2.868m.
Combining their personal experiences in cycling, photography, performance and new media, the artists propose to reveal their memories of a bicycle trip, through these means. The goal is to carry out a field trip and record, photograph, capture sounds, and reports during the trip/residence/tour to collect incredible landscapes, from specific locations. Europe is home to many different species of animal and plant life and people, thus inviting diverse dialogues depending on the specific location. Their idea is to have an archive of the selected places where they will pass, document them with photos, videos, physical elements collected in loco and with personal observations and writings. In addition, this trip allows you to explore the meaning of places across time and cultures. Understanding changes in landscapes can yield crucial information and our aim is to reveal these subtleties in an artistic context.
